Gujarat High Court criticizes Surat Municipal Chief over allotment of TP scheme

Ahmedabad : The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday severely criticised Surat Municipal Commissioner Shalini Agrawal for allowing a decision on allotment of a key town planning scheme, a dispute over which is already pending in the court, and ordered her to remain present on March 6 and tender an apology after initially suspending the officials involved.

Alleging discrimination and unfair treatment, a private party petitioned the high court to stop the Urban Development Department from approving a draught town planning scheme that included changes that benefited another party.

He explained that a petition he filed in January regarding land allocation was still pending in the high court, but that the Surat Municipal Corporation authorities had approved a revised draught town planning scheme just one day before the court hearing.

Advocate-General Kamal Trivedi was also called before the high court, and he promised appropriate measures would be taken. In addition, he was tasked with informing the Surat Municipal Commissioner that he lacked the authority to make any hasty judgements about cases currently before the supreme court. “The petitioners should not lose faith in the high court that despite its notices to the respondents, the latter went ahead and did what they wished to,” the court remarked.