Bureaucratic uncertainty turns Juhapura into a slum

Officials at the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) say their hands are tied up as the town planning (TP) scheme for this patch from Vishala Char Rasta to Sarkhej has not been finalised.

Speaking to The Indian Express,Deputy Municipal Commissioner (New west zone) M D Modia said the AMC could not carry out any work in the area without a TP for demarcating roads and streets.

“How can we construct roads,lay sewerage lines or set up streetlight poles when we don’t have any plan with us demarcating the roads and the streets?’’ asked Modia.

According to him,though the area has come under the AMC for the purpose of infrastructure development since 2006,the power to draft a TP still rests with the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA). “We can start the work immediately once we are provided with a TP for the area.”

AUDA officials,on their part,say they had begun a survey of the area for drafting a TP of the ghetto five years ago but it could not be completed because of unauthorised constructions with congested streets in the area.

“It is really a Herculean task to prepare a TP of the areas with too much of illegal constructions and narrow streets. Construction of sewerage drains and laying water supply lines in such an area is extremely difficult,” said deputy town planner R B Joshi.

However,he said the AUDA was trying to find out some ways to finalise a plan and submit it to the government for its approval.

Development and rise in population in the area began after rehabilitation of flood victims of 1972 in Sankalit Nagar,followed by shifting of people after every riot from the old city. It was around the same time when adjoining Vejalpur,Jivraj Park and other areas like Bodakdev,Ghatlodia,Vastrapur,Thaltej and Ranip also began developing.

According to information culled through an RTI application,TP for Vejalpur,Bodakdev,Ghatlodia,Thaltej,Memnagar,Chandkheda,Nikol,Ranip and Vastrapur were prepared by the AUDA and approved by the state town planning department in 2002. The plans led to fast growth in these areas,but Juhapura without a plan got converted into a slum.

In response to a question about the reason for delay in drafting a plan and its approval for areas like Maktampur,Shahwadi and Gayaswadi forming parts of Juhapura,RTI reply was: “The power of finalising the TP rests with the state government.”

Meanwhile,in the maze of bureaucratic puzzles,Juhapura continues to grow as a slum.