Nasirnagar demolition: Gujarat High Court questions DCP’s continuation

A promise of rehabilitation has run into a problem at the site of the Nasirnagar demolition in Surat, with residents telling the Gujarat High Court on Friday that they had rejected the alternative houses offered to them because the accommodation shown to them was in a dilapidated condition and, in some cases, at locations different from those originally promised.

The court, meanwhile, questioned why Deputy Commissioner of Police R Nakum continued to hold his position even as M Nagrajan had been transferred as Surat Municipal Corporation Commissioner, while an inquiry into the demolition was ongoing. Justice Nikhil Kariel of the Gujarat High Court was hearing submissions from the petitioners, who told the court that they had initially agreed to accept houses at Jahangirpura under the PM Awas Yojana after finding them “quite decent”, but that the site was subsequently changed without any intimation and they were instead shown houses at different locations which they alleged were in a dilapidated condition.

In a first after a demolition, Gujarat government offers free homes, repairs in Surat The counsel also raised the issue of the draw for allotment, pointing out that some residents could end up receiving homes of substantially different quality.