The demolition drive to clear over 700 illegal encroachments has begun since early morning today (September 18) in Gujarat's Gandhinagar district. The Gandhinagar district administration and the Municipal Corporation (GMC) have undertaken a mega drive against long-standing residential infrastructures, under tight security with the deployment of over 700 police personnel.
To remove illegal encroachments in the area of one lakh square meters, a joint team of Gandhinagar administration and police has been formed and begin bulldozing, Superintendent of Police (SP) Ravi Teja Vasamshetty told the news agency ANI. "So far, 100 illegal encroachments have been removed. There are a total of 600 encroachments that will be removed in a few days," Vasamshetty said.
"The market value of this one lakh square meters area is around Rs 1000 crores. More than 700 police officials, 20 teams of administration and 20 JCBs have been deployed," he added further.
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More than 700 mud-brick houses belonging to poor families, illegally residing on government land in areas such as GEB, Pethapur and Charedi located on the banks of the Sabarmati river, will be razed to the ground. However, this action has sparked serious criticism.
Citizens have raised concerns that the administration is targeting the poor while ignoring large-scale commercial constructions and encroachments in Gandhinagar’s main sectors, which are making the planned city increasingly “unplanned.”
The joint operation by the Gandhinagar district administration and police involved bulldozers and JCB machines to demolish the illegal houses and structures on government land. According to officials, notices had already been issued to the encroachers asking them to vacate the land. Despite the expiry of the notice period, they did not vacate, forcing the administration to take coercive action.
While the homes of families who have lived along the riverbank for years are being demolished, the inaction of the corporation against large and powerful encroachments in key sectors has become a talking point. In areas such as Sector-13, Sector-20, and Sector-24, illegal constructions outside approved plans and on main roads remain untouched.
It is worth noting that similar anti-encroachment campaigns were earlier carried out in Jamnagar, Dwarka, Rajkot, and Kutch districts. The government has made it clear that no encroachment on government land will be tolerated and such actions will continue in the future as well.
The demolition drive has created a stir in the local area, leaving several long-settled families homeless. However, the administration has maintained that only illegal structures on government land are being targeted.