Ahmedabad: Gujarat High Court on Monday came down heavily on the state govt and Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) over the illegal demolition of houses in Nasir Nagar, asking why IAS officer M Nagarajan and Special Operations Group DCP Rajdeepsinh Nakum continue to hold their present posts while an inquiry into their roles is underway.The court also questioned how the civic body could charge the very people whose homes were razed in the May 30 “ghost demolition” for alternative accommodation, treating them as applicants under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) scheme.Justice Nikhil Kariel rejected the SMC’s proposal that the Rs 15,000 application fee and construction cost of over Rs 5 lakh be met by certain NGOs, after the corporation cited difficulties in bearing the cost of rehousing all those affected. HC said, “To this court, it would appear that such a course of action could not be permissible. The state and the corporation could not be permitted to shirk the responsibility as regards the persons whose houses have been demolished without any authority of law.”HC clarified, “The burden of ensuring that the persons whose houses have been demolished would lie squarely on the shoulders of the corporation and vicariously on the state authorities.” The court said it is SMC’s liability to provide houses to the affected within municipal limits, and criticised the civic body for “furthering the illegality” by seeking to “extract money” under the guise of providing housing to those who lost their dwellings in an illegal drive.The court took note of the expanded terms of reference of the inquiry committee set up by the state govt to fix responsibility on all the officers concerned and recommend appropriate disciplinary proceedings against them.The HC said that when the state govt is treating the issue with “seriousness and earnest interest,” and when SMC has acted against junior officials, why was no action being taken against senior officials whose roles are being examined based on allegations made by a subordinate official?“While the court is not suggestive of the fact that prima facie action of suspending the officers may be adhered to, but at the same time for ensuring that justice is seen to be done, it would be imperative that the officers, however senior he may be, should not be permitted to continue on the post till the committee inquires into the issue (sic),” the court said.The HC directed the state govt and SMC to respond by Wednesday, asking under what authority the corporation was collecting charges from the affected persons and “why senior corporation officials, including the municipal commissioner, and senior police officers, including the DCP of SOG, were allowed to continue on their posts in question” despite an inquiry into their roles.
