ગુજરાતી
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Ahmedabad, November 27, 2025
In a joint AMC-police operation, 12,500 houses and huts were demolished at Chandola Lake, 450 at Rakhiyal, 292 at Makarba, and 2,000 houses and huts were demolished through other means. This brings the total demolition to 17,000 houses and huts. 400 huts and thatched houses were demolished behind the SP office near Ajit Mill Square.
Residents of the Isanpur area have been rendered homeless by the demolition. Construction near Isanpur Lake in Ahmedabad was demolished on November 24, 2024, leaving over 5,000 people homeless.
Thousands of houses were demolished in a single day during the demolition, leaving over 5,000 people homeless. The demolitions were carried out without any timeline. Household items, including household goods, are buried under the debris. The condition of these families is currently dire, and those displaced by the demolition are stranded.
Isanpur Lake spans approximately 96,000 meters, of which 30% was under pressure.
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation sent three notices to these homeowners before the monsoon. Demolition was delayed due to Diwali. The work was carried out in four phases. 925 residential houses were demolished. 167 were illegal commercial constructions.
There are 115 lakes in Ahmedabad city. Isanpur Lake is the third largest lake in the city, after Chandola and Kankaria Lakes.
This land was allotted during Indira Gandhi’s time. Previously, it was a farm. Evidence of four generations has been found here. 40 to 50 Maldhari families lived here. The Gram Panchayat of Ramwadi Isanpur Tekra developed the lake. The Gram Panchayat had 11 rupees in revenue and 12 rupees in taxes. After being rendered homeless, the women cried. Tears welled up in their eyes.
Traumatism
They began living on cots on the street. Little girls slept on the street. Many were widowed sisters. A large section of people made a living through labor. Many had lived in Ramwadi for 80 years. Now, there was no support. There was nothing to eat; they hadn’t eaten in two days. There were no blankets or clothes to cover themselves in the cold. Their belongings were buried under the rubble. There was no money to run the rented house. Students’ uniforms and bags were buried under the rubble. They couldn’t even retrieve their belongings, all buried under the rubble. The children’s education was disrupted.
Law
Ten residents went to the High Court. Pilote was the one who filed the petition against the demolition notice. After the High Court ordered the demolition of the structure, the petition was filed in the Supreme Court, with a deadline of the first week of December. Even before that, such extensive demolition had been carried out. A week’s respite was sought, but the bulldozers were used. Six months ago, 167 commercial structures surrounding the pressure well were demolished. At that time, no action was taken to demolish residential buildings. However, the municipality had issued notices to residential buildings before the monsoon.
Action was planned before Diwali. Then, preparations were made for the demolition on November 20th, but local residents asked the municipality for four days to remove the belongings, including the goods stored in the building. Consequently, demolition action was not carried out even on November 20th.
Local residents had strongly opposed the removal of the pressure well three years ago.
1250 Employees
The corporation had 700 employees and officers from various departments. A DCP, an ACP, 12 PIs, and 33 PSIs, along with a convoy of 500 policemen, were deployed. The machinery included 12 Hitachi trucks, 8 JCBs, 12 dumpers, and 12 pressure vehicles. There were employees from Torrent Power, the fire department, and medical vans for power connections. The municipal and police departments combined had approximately 1,250 staff.
On the other hand, people are also saying that they were promised new homes, but now the AMC has forced them onto the streets. To beautify the Isanpur Lake, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation evicted 1,000 families living near the lake for 60 years and demolished their homes. Many had lived there since 1948. Pilaben Marathi had been living in Ramwadi for 70 years, paying a house tax of ₹5 for five generations.
Preetesh Mehta was the chairman of the Estate Committee. The political wing stated that they had no information. Deputy Municipal Commissioner Riddesh Rawal was present. At 6 a.m., a convoy of corporation employees and police arrived to carry out the demolition.
Before the pressure was eased, homes were to be given to citizens under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Prime Minister’s Housing Scheme). The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation had initiated the process of filling out forms for this purpose. Where will they live until they get their homes after two years? The poor were forced onto the streets. They were given a 21-day deadline.
Work on the lake’s development will begin. Rainwater will be filled into the lake through stormwater lines. This will solve the problem of rainwater inundation in the surrounding area and the rainwater will be discharged into the lake. The Municipal Corporation itself laid drainage lines in the lake.
Ten years ago, the Collector’s Office issued a notice to demolish some shops and a temple in the lake area. However, the administration also issued a notice to demolish the shops of a corporator and ward president of the Isanpur ward at that time, which was stopped.
No Development
Isanpur was merged into Ahmedabad city 40 years ago.
From 1986-87 to the present, the BJP has only once ruled the city in elections. Isanpur is known as a mini “Raipur-Kharia.” The BJP is also benefiting from Congress’s inaction. Despite being a BJP stronghold, public works are not being carried out in this area. Development is stymied. The barrage of protests has stalled development.
There are obstacles. But even Congress has failed to raise this issue.
The approval of the TP scheme has been delayed. Political builders are rampant here.
There are no reserved plots left for public works. Commercial construction has taken up all government land. A notice was issued by the Collectorate 10 years ago to demolish these. The decision was withdrawn after a deal.
Traffic problems are caused by pressure on government land. The only valuable open plot on the 132-foot Ring Road was forced to be used for open-to-sky parking.
Advertisements have been placed for the development of the Isanpur Lake for 25 years.
Pressure was placed on the Janmarg flyover on the Isanpur Highway.
No good work has been done in 10 years.
A senior citizen park has been built on the site of an old tap-pump from the Gram Panchayat era. There is no garden, gym, or library there. In the Isanpur ward, Brahmo Samaj candidates have won every term except for the 2015 term from 2020. Dakshesh Mehta, Ramaben Joshi, Lavind Thakor, and Pulkit Vyas have been BJP candidates. There are 100,000 voters here.
Chandola Lake
Demolition work had previously been carried out near Chandola Lake. Before the work began on April 29, 2025, more than 800 suspects (illegal Bangladeshis) were detained in the area. The operation, carried out in two phases, used approximately 40 to 50 bulldozers and more than 40 dumpers to remove the pressure. In addition to houses, several illegal religious structures were also demolished. Phase 1 saw the removal of 4,000 unfinished structures and cleared 150,000 square meters of land. Then, on May 20, 2025, in Phase 2, 8,500 unfinished structures were removed, clearing a total of 250,000 square meters of land. 12,500 structures were removed in Chandola.
Naroda-Muthia Lake
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation also removed encroachments around Naroda Muthia Lake. The Collector ordered the lake’s clearance in 2021. The municipality took possession of it on April 9, 2025. On Monday, the municipality took action to remove 85 unfinished structures, both residential and commercial, in the lake.
Ahmedabad Rural
From April to June two years ago, encroachments were removed from 111 plots of land in 393 government lands in Ahmedabad Rural and 15 Mamlatdar Office areas of the city.
Encroachment information is provided on the government portal every three months.
Encroachment removed in Shahpur.
Religious Encroachment
In the two months from 11-9-24 to 20-11-24, 261 illegal religious sites were removed across the state. Of these, 236 were removed from districts and 25 from municipal areas, with 56 religious encroachments relocated and 25 regularized.
Ahmedabad
The Ahmedabad city government issued a notice to remove 1,386 religious encroachments on Ahmedabad roads by July 2024, requiring them to be removed within seven days.
As per the Home Department’s proposal in April 2024, 149 religious sites were removed by July 6.
A progress report was also to be submitted to the Gujarat High Court on the action taken by the administration regarding the encroachment by the Municipal Corporation on religious sites.
These include the Bhathiji Maharaj Temple on Viratnagar Road, the Shanidev and Patalia Hanumanji Temples near India Colony, the Hanumanji Temple on Bombay Conductor Road, the Khodiyar Temple in Ramol, and the Avala Sai Baba Temple in Sardarnagar.
Religious Places by Zone
Zone – Religious Places – Removed
North – 212 – 20
East – 147 – 31
South – 203 – 35
Central – 489 – 25
West – 235 – 23
UP – 57 – 9
SP – 28 – 6
Highway – 15 – 0
