The Times of India              24.05.2013

Surat an example of peaceful demolition drives

SURAT: Surat has a history of achieving what is almost impossible in most of the other cities. In the past too peaceful anti-encroachments drives have taken place in the city on the government lands.

The city had witnessed a unique exercise in self demolition of illegal structures by hundreds of house owners for the expansion of Rajmarg between Chowk Bazar and Railway Station in 1995. People gave up the possession of their land for the development of the city in 1995.

This was followed by an encroachment removal drive in 2009 and 2010 for the Tapi riverfront development project wherein a population of about one lakh was shifted from Rander (West) and Adajan to the houses built for economically weaker sections (EWS) in Kosad and Rander.

Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) has built 40,282 houses for EWS till now in different parts of the city out of which 31,200 have already been allotted. Another 6,000 are in the construction stage. The project was undertaken as a part of Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) at a cost of Rs 900 crore five years ago.

"We follow a policy of first making an alternate arrangement for relocation and rehabilitation of people before getting them to vacate the piece of land where they are living. This whole exercise is a part of zero slum city target that we want to achieve in another five years," said Jatin Desai, executive engineer in-charge of slum up gradation cell of SMC.