The Vadodara Municipal Corporation’s (VMC) drive to serve evacuation notices to residents of “dilapidated” buildings kicked a storm on Friday after Manjalpur BJP MLA Yogesh Patel accused civic body officials of “attempting to malign the party’s image” by evicting people in an “unplanned manner”.
Patel expressed his displeasure over the VMC’s move to snap water and power connections as well as severe drainage network lines in a colony comprising 300 flats — in his constituency — after handing out an eviction notice with regard to the “dilapidated” structure.
On Friday, Patel held an ‘otla baithak’ (informal meeting) at the Madhya Gujarat Vij Corporation Limited (MGVCL) office and demanded that the authorities “immediately” resume basic facilities at these flats, and then serve a notice regarding repairs rather than eviction. The matter pertains to Diwalipura housing colony in Manjalpur’s Tarsali area, which is the Assembly constituency of Patel.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Patel said that the VMC and the Gujarat Housing Board — which has constructed the said colonies — are acting on the issues in an “unfair and thoughtless” manner.
Patel said: “About 15 days ago, when Municipal Commissioner Dilip Rana (who is away for mandatory training at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy Of Administration, Mussoorie) was in the city, there was a similar issue regarding 1,200 flats in the Marutidham colony. The VMC had served eviction notices to the flat owners and occupants… I had told the VMC Commissioner that if these structures were repairable, they should not be served notices for eviction… structures that cannot be salvaged can be razed.”
“…the Commissioner had agreed and the decision was taken accordingly, following which, the residents agreed to repair the structure… the Commissioner is away now. At whose behest are the officers acting thoughtlessly?… There are 39 towers, with a total of eight flats in each building, and it seems like a conspiracy to evict so many people together to ruin BJP’s image…” Patel said.
Following a meeting with Patel, who had handed out a 4 pm deadline to restore the said connections to the officials concerned, the MGVCL authorities were on the ground until Friday evening to resume the amenities — after a mandatory affidavit from the residents, stating that they were willing to repair the structures to make them “safe”.
On Friday, BJP Corporator Nitin Donga said: “The VMC has been serving notices and threatening residents with disconnection of basic amenities, but it is the corporators who have to face the wrath of the residents… eviction of families from their homes is not a matter that can be dealt with arbitrarily. It has to be resolved through a proper process…”
The VMC has, so far, served notices to close to 5,000 “dilapidated” units, including several private properties, as part of its annual drive prior to monsoon.