Vadodara civic body tears down encroachments at Agora mall

The Agora Mall is a part of the VMC’s public private partnership project to rehabilitate the slum dwellers of Sanjaynagar and has been in dispute for the alleged encroachments since 2015 with citizen groups having moved the Gujarat High Court in the matter.

On Friday, six hydraulic bulldozers of the VMC razed the three-storeyed club house, spread over an area of 3000 square feet.

Representatives of Agora Mall said that they had managed to remove as much furniture and belongings from the premises as they could, following the notice served on Tuesday. The structure also included office spaces that had been sold and leased out.

Advocate Shailesh Amin of the Vishwamitri Bachao Samiti (VBS), who has been fighting against the alleged encroachment by Agora Mall and has also moved a PIL in the high court in his personal capacity, on Friday, said that in order to restore the Vishwamitri river to its natural form, it is necessary to remove the embankment wall.

“Not just the club house but the debris filled in the river to construct the embankment wall, and the wall itself need to be demolished… We have been fighting for this since 2015 when the encroachment was being done but the VMC turned a blind eye to the encroachment back then and did not pay heed to our protests,” he said. “The demolition carried out now is nothing but a consequence of VMC’s own inaction…” he added.

Agora Mall on Mangal Pandey Road in Sama

Amin said that not just Agora Mall but the state government should also ensure that all the zone transfers of lands in Restricted Zone to residential zone should be withdrawn and the river plains opened up to rejuvenate the river. Meanwhile, Congress leader Ami Ravat demanded an inquiry into the conduct of the then VMC officials, including arrest of former municipal commissioner HS Patel.

In a memorandum to the district collector Friday, Ravat said, “An inquiry was set up on this project by then Vadodara district collector Avantika Singh and subsequently VMC was instructed to remove these encroachments but till date no action has been taken on the same. We demand immediate removal of embankment constructed in Vishwamitri river, in view of flooding and water logging in future as well as legal action against the developer Manav Infrastructure, and the government officers who have failed to complete compliance of the Environment Protection Act 1986 as well as then municipal commissioner HS Patel, builder and additional city engineer FJ Charpot for connivance in corruption.”

The VMC’s anti-encroachment department also conducted demolitions in Nizampura, located on the Bhukhi canal. The VMC had conducted a drone and physical survey across the 23 kilometer river course of Vishwamitri, handing out notices to 11 “entities” to voluntarily remove encroachments by Thursday.

A VMC official said, “We have begun the work of removing the encroachments identified. Over the next couple of days, all the 11 sites where encroachments have been found will be inspected and whatever part has not been pulled down already, will be removed.”

Reacting to the development, Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Shaktisinh Gohil said, “It is too little too late… If the VMC knew that this was an encroachment that was in the way of the flow of the Vishwamitri, then why was it not broken down until now?”

“ What about the illegality of the entire structure? Why was the three-storey structure allowed to be constructed? If it was done earlier, Vadodara would not have suffered the damage,” said Gohil.