Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), for the past two days, has restarted demolition work on the disputed 900-metre road connecting Jhansi Ki Rani junction to former chief minister Chimanbhai Patel’s residence in Ambawadi. So far, the civic body has taken down a school, 9 residences, and 21 commercial establishments.
This 18-metre-wide road has been a topic of dispute since October 2017, when it was shortlisted for town planning scheme 21 in Ambawadi’s green belt zone. However, in 2019, the residents in the area protested against this refurbishment and took the matter to the High Court. The court immediately put a stay on any planned demolition.
Over the years, AMC presented its side repeatedly at the court and finally acquired a green signal for its cause in May 2022. The civic body then has begun widening the road. This move is expected to ease traffic at several junctions between Nehrunagar and Shivaranjani crossroads. the civic body will also be able to modernize these areas as approved by the court in 2013. At the time, the court approved 13 new town planning schemes for nearly 636 hectares of the green belt zone.
