Path cleared by Gujarat High Court for Surat metro

01 Jul 2022 CW Team

The Gujarat High Court rejected a petition filed by 39 vendors in a municipal market in the city's Rudrapur area. The court ordered the petitioners, who are tenants of the civic body, to leave the area so that the metro line could pass through.

According to the High Court, the Surat Municipal Corporation's (SMC) decision to ask the petitioners to vacate the property is necessary for the Metro Rail Project's implementation, which will benefit the general public. A district court made the judgement to evict the business owners in August 2021 and the Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation was to pay each shop owner Rs. 1.11 lakh in restitution rather than offer them an alternative solution. The metro rail's Phase 1 route passes via the municipal market in Kadarsah ni Naal in Rudrapur.

In accordance with the terms of the Gujarat Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1972, the SMC served eviction notice on the tenants in January 2021. Following a hearing in February 2021, the SMC immediately issued an eviction order.

The Transfer of Property Act's provisions were used to dispute the district court's order in the HC. The HC issued an order to maintain the status quo in September 2021. 39 residents' lease deeds, according to SMC, expired in 2016 and was not renewed. According to the Eviction of Public Premises Act's provisions, the civic authority had the right to evict them.

The HC dismissed the applications, noting the top court's directive that high courts must exercise extreme caution and circumspection when granting stays on megaprojects and considering petitions that are filed in opposition to them because such involvement causes delays and increases project costs.

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