Five Surat Civic Officials Suspended Over Unauthorised Slum Demolition

By Mahima Katal

Surat, July 1: The Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) has suspended five officials in connection with the demolition of around 80 shanties in the city's Nasirnagar area, an action that had sparked controversy after the civic body denied authorising the operation.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the SMC said a departmental inquiry has been initiated following the findings of an internal committee that investigated the demolition carried out on May 30.

The suspended officials are Executive Engineers Sujalkumar Prajapati and Jayang Jivanramjiwala, Deputy Engineer Arpan Parmar, Assistant Engineer Monik Gadhiya, and Junior Engineer Nareshkumar Galchar. The corporation said the officials have been suspended with immediate effect to ensure a fair and impartial inquiry.

However, the civic body did not disclose the findings of the internal probe or clarify the specific role of the officials in the demolition.

The demolition of nearly 80 shanties had triggered political and legal controversy after the SMC denied carrying out the exercise and ordered an investigation following media reports.

Earlier, SMC Standing Committee Chairman Rajan Patel had said preliminary findings indicated that civic officials had visited the site only for road demarcation.

The opposition Congress alleged that the demolition was carried out to benefit a builder with an interest in the land, accusing the ruling BJP of facilitating the action. The BJP has not responded to the allegations.

Meanwhile, a resident has challenged the demolition before the Gujarat High Court, alleging that the authorities failed to follow due process. Congress leader and former corporator Aslam Cyclewala claimed that many of the demolished homes were 40 to 50 years old and that their occupants had been paying property tax to the civic body.