AMC takes over possession of plot

The Estate Department of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) on Wednesday took possession of its of a leased plot of land and sealed it. The property in question was given out on lease to a private contractor for a water park. The contractor was not ready to leave the space and had approached the High Court and Supreme Court seeking extension of the contract.

The 13,000-square meter land near Kankaria Lakefront was leased out for 15 years to Super Star Amusement park. The contract was till August 17, 2017, according to the terms of the contract decided by the AMC standing committee 15 years ago.

“We had received a proposal from the executive wing to re-allot the contract to the same contractor for another 20 years. However, we didn’t entertain that. As elections were around the corner and we had no time to issue a tender, we had extended the contract for three months,” said Standing Committee Chairman Pravin Patel.

He said the contractor had filed a case seeking possession of the property during the extension period. “The High Court had dismissed his claims. After that, we had served him a notice of two weeks to vacate the place, which ended on Wednesday,” added Patel.

“We have taken the possession of the property. We had to seal it as it has some of the material of the occupier. We will not allow access to anyone now,” said an Estate Department official.

The contractor is the brother of a former BJP councilor. “He was renting out the space for marriage functions and other events, which was not part of the contract. He was also not giving 30% of the income from the space to the AMC, instead he would give as per his own wish,” said a source in civic body who did not want to be named in the report.