In a major controversy, about 100 homes of residents in a slum settlement in Nasirnagar, Surat, Gujarat, were demolished without any official notice.
The incident escalated after the Surat Municipal Corporation denied giving out any orders for the demolitions and claimed that it had no role in the action.
The demolitions took place on June 3.
The families who used to live in the homes are now demanding to know who did it.
According to the residents, some have lived in the homes with their families for the last 40 to 50 years.
Most of them were working or middle-class families. Many of the residents have been left homeless.
The most interesting aspect of the incident is that there were police officials and SMC personnel present throughout the site of the demolitions. The residents say that their houses were razed without any legal announcement or prior notice. There is, however, no information about which department acted to carry out the act.
The incident is now being described as a 'ghost demolition' with no civic body taking responsibility.
BJP MLA Vinu Mordia said that the municipal commissioner did not order any demolition work in the area. He said that the administration officials were ordered to only measure a road in the location.
He said the matter will be investigated.
“I spoke to the municipal commissioner, and he confirmed that no demolition order was given by SMC. I have sought clarity on who carried out the demolition. Since no one other than SMC has the authority to demolish homes, this raises a serious question of law being taken into one’s own hands,” he said, according to The Times of India.
SMC Standing Committee Chairman Rajan Patel, meanwhile, clarified that the corporation sought police deployment for the demarcation of land in the area and that the municipality took no part in the act.
Meanwhile, Municipal Commissioner M. Nagarajan clarified that the SMC team only visited the site for the demarcation exercise.
“During that time, some structures were demolished by another party. The land belongs to a private entity, and they may have deployed machinery. The SMC has no role in the demolition,” he said.
The administration has initiated an inquiry into how the a large-scale demolition took place in the presence of civic and police personnel without any authorisation.
Meanwhile, the houses of at least 30 families were demolished in the Mandwa Phalia of Amod Talk in Bharuch district. Most of the residents were employed in other regions during the demolitions.
Locals have alleged that houses under the Sardar Patel Housing scheme were also demolished. The victims filed a complaint with the police, and the police have taken action and arrested the main accused, Bashir Ali and a JCB driver.
