Jeevika Fellowship
Date of Application 11th March, 2022
Centre for Civil Society advances social change through public policy. Our work in education, livelihood, and policy training promotes choice and accountability across the private and public sectors. To translate policy into practice, we engage with policy and opinion leaders through research, pilot projects and advocacy.
Centre for Civil Society is offering Jeevika Fellowship to Law students from March 2022 to December 2023. The fellows will be providing legal aid and spreading awareness on the rights of street vendors in Delhi.
What is the problem context?
Harassment of street vendors is rampant throughout India in several forms: arbitrary penalties, illegal eviction, bribery and undue seizure of goods. It is estimated that in Delhi, street vendors end up paying millions per year in bribes to public officials.
In several markets of Delhi, vendors have been evicted without notice—a legal requirement under the Street Vendors Act, 2014. In some instances, vendors are evicted even though they possess the relevant legal documents. Abuse of power is common, not because of absence of law, but the lack of legal awareness, a systematic record of cases of harassment, and proper legal enforcement.
In most cases, access to easy-to-use information about rights and rules enable the vendors to defend themselves when faced with police harassment. In some instances, access to lawyers will be required to stop the police harassment and to approach the courts. Our aggregator-like solution will connect law students and socially responsible lawyers to street vendors in need.
What do we propose to do?
Centre for Civil Society has recorded instances of street vendors standing up to Judicial Officials, fighting their own cases, and ensuring they do not get harassed when they are provided with the legal awareness and knowledge of their rights.
We seek to collaborate with law schools and engage 10-15 law students, across colleges, willing to assist street vendors in Delhi. Our team will train these students on filing complaints, collecting grievance data, and spreading awareness on legal rights of street vendors. Students will be selected based on merit and their knowledge of the Street Vendors Act, 2014.
- Mode of selection: Students will be shortlisted based on their academic performance, previous internship experience, performance on written assignment/test, and one round of interviews.
- Duration of the engagement: March 2022 to December 2023
- Weekly hours required: Students will be expected to commit 16-18 hours per week, including weekends.
- Mode of engagement: Students will be required to work both online and offline. COVID-19 protocols will be followed.
For any further queries, please feel free to write to astha@ccs.in
