Generally government departments engage people in legal entanglements, but the situation is the other way around in Surat.
Generally government departments engage people in legal entanglements, but the situation is the other way around in Surat. The state disaster management authority has prepared Emergency Response Centre (ERC) at Kamrej near Surat, but is unable to use it due to unavailability of a road. The private owner of the land through which the road has to pass, has brought a stay from the court against building the road.
Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA) has developed the ERC at Vav near Kamrej in Surat district. It will handle disaster situations in five districts of south Gujarat region, Surat, Tapi, Navsari, Valsad and Dangs. It will also have ultra-modern equipment and 35 imported vehicles that include Rescue Vehicle, Hazard Material Container, Command and Control Vehicle, among others.
While work on the building is complete, it is still unusable owing to a small problem - connectivity. There is practically no access road to the ERC building. The state government wants to build a road from the highway to ERC, but the owner of the adjoining land on which road has to pass through is against it. He has strictly opposed any kind of construction on his land and has even threatened legal action if any such work is done.
"The land belongs to a Mumbai based person named Naresh Shah. Only a small patch of 300 feet will pass through his land, but because of his protest, the entire road project is hanging fire. Shah has also brought a stay from the local court to prevent any kind of occupation on his land," D Gamit, fire officer of SMC, said.
The civic fire department has signed a MoU with GSDMA for operation of ERC. However, they are unable to make ERC functional due to lack of road connectivity.
The legal action initiated by the private land owner has surprised the district administration, which is planning to take hold of the land through compulsory acquisition. The district administration is going to issue a notification regarding this and with the help of the law, will acquire the land.
"Our attempts to resolve the issue have failed and so we have decided to go for compulsory acquisition as per government rates. Once the land is acquired, the road will be prepared in two weeks. We will issue notification in a few days," a top official of Surat district administration said, requesting anonymity.
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