Jaipur: A road-widening drive on New Sanganer Road triggered a dispute Monday after residents and traders alleged that private properties were marked for demolition while Vivek Vihar and Shyam Nagar metro station complexes on the same alignment were left untouched.Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) teams marked and removed portions of shops and homes along the one-kilometre stretch between Gurjar Ki Thadi and Vivek Vihar metro station, acting on notices issued following a Rajasthan High Court order.Residents and traders said private properties had been marked by three to 15 feet as encroachments but questioned why the two metro station complexes had not been similarly affected.“The question is how can you spare two structures standing on the same road alignment adjacent to these earmarked structures?” said trader Ankit Goyal. He added, “If JDA widens the road, the portion in front of these two station complexes will not be widened. It means the high court order is only applicable to rank-and-file citizens, and not government properties.”The markings caused anxiety among affected residents. Some shopkeepers shifted goods to the rear of their premises, while others confronted officials over how the road could be widened uniformly if large public structures remained in place.“To JDA officials, this exercise is only to comply with the high court mandate. For us, the red line painted on our property is the line of our shelter and daily bread,” said resident Piyush Saini.JDA’s enforcement wing declined to comment, saying it was executing notices issued after markings by the concerned zone office.DC Zone C Hemant Kumar, leading the operation, was unavailable for comment.Residents also alleged uneven markings, claiming some areas, particularly in wards represented by BJP councillors, had been spared or treated differently.
