Gujarat Reassigns Surat Civic Commissioner After High Court Scrutinizes Demolition Inquiry

Under a notification released late Tuesday night by the state General Administration Department, Nagarajan has been reassigned to Gandhinagar as the state project director for Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan. He replaces Ranjeeth Kumar, who has been appointed secretary of the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission—a role he previously held as an additional charge. In Surat, Collector Tejas Parmar has assumed additional responsibility as municipal commissioner.

The administrative reshuffle stems from a legal challenge brought by 26 displaced residents after a municipal clearance operation in Nasirnagar left nearly 100 families without shelter. Reviewing the case on Monday, the high court stated that the demolition appeared illegal on first view and emphasized that state authorities must remove senior officers, including the civic chief and the deputy commissioner of police, from their posts during the investigation to guarantee an impartial inquiry.