Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Responsibility for Razing of Surat’s Nasirnagar Shanties Remains Unclear

Unclear responsibility has pushed the case into the Gujarat High Court for review of the demolitions.

Overview

  • Roughly 80–100 shanties in the Nasirnagar slum were razed between May 28 and May 30, leaving dozens of families homeless and possessions buried under rubble.
  • The Surat Municipal Corporation says its teams only went to mark a proposed road and denies ordering the demolitions while police say they provided security after receiving documents.
  • A Nasirnagar resident, Hussain Aziz Shaikh, filed a Special Civil Application in the Gujarat High Court seeking a stay and questioning whether proper notice and procedure were followed.
  • The SMC has ordered an internal inquiry and asked the municipal commissioner for a report; an SMC executive engineer implicated in the episode has gone on indefinite leave and about 50 protesters were detained during demonstrations.
  • Local records and opposition leaders say the plot is partly private and partly municipal and point to a nearby builder’s project as a possible motive, a dispute that raises questions about redevelopment pressure legal land title and the need for urgent relief for displaced families.