Gujarat politician-builder-babu nexus "eyes" Rs 38,000 crore land, plans to shift Surat small industries location

By Sagar Rabari*
The Gujarat government decision to merge, through a Development Plan (DP), 104 villages of five talukas, Olpad, Choryasi, Kamrej, Palsana and Mangrol of Surat district, into the Surat Urban Development Authority (SUDA) is being seen as a murky move in which the politician-builder-bureaucrat syndicate would make huge real estate gains to the tune of Rs 38,000 crore.
While the move, undertaken without consulting the affected villagers, is claimed to have been made under the pretext that in the year 2035 the population of Surat would touch 1.10 crore, the proposed expansion – and this significant – is three times the present area of Surat, which accommodates a population of 45 lakh (2011 Census).
On studying plans, maps and land use calculations, it has come to light that the DP-2035, published on May 10 this year, has proposed an industrial corridor within it. People with their innate common sense can see and feel the mal-intentioned planning: They feel that it is nothing less than a well-planned land grab.
According to villagers, small industrial units in the present city are spread over almost 800 acres of land (about 324 hectares). The politician-builder-bureaucrat syndicate eyes this 800 acres of land, which is now the prime real estate.
Under the pretext of decongestion and reducing pollution, the authorities are proposing to shift industrial units to the newly-planned 1.25-2 km wide and 37 km long industrial corridor, near Pinjarat and Tena villages.
For this, 1,500 hectares (ha) of Pinjarat village and 800 ha of Tena village is going to be taken away from the farmers with the aim of relocating small industrial units as also industrial units from the nearby Hazira industrial area.
A calculation suggests that the 800 acres of prime real estate, after moving the industrial units, would be available to builder-politician- bureaucrat syndicate for more than Rs 38,000 crore. After all, 800 acres would mean 38,27,200 sq yards, and the present market of the area is Rs 1 lakh per sq yard.
Even a novice can understand where this money would go and whose development this is.
As a by-product of this development, a realization has dawned on the villagers. A bridge on the creek near village Tena is now nearing completion. The people of the village thought that the bridge was being built for them, to cut the travel time from their village to the city.
Now with the plan of relocation of the industrial units is out in the open, they find that it is not for them. While it may help them, it is actually to motivate the industries to relocate to the new area.
There is yet another story doing the rounds among the villagers. The Adani Group has built a port in Hazira, and now needs to connect it with national highway No 8 and the Delhi-Mumbai rail line. The Gujarat government, always willing to help industries in general and Adani in particular, tried to impose Hazira Special Investment Region (SIR) on farmers of 36 villages of Olpad and Kamrej taluka.
However, The SIR had to be canceled due to stiff resistance from the agrarian community, enjoying prosperity through rich agriculture and animal husbandry.
The Adani Group then tried, though unsuccessfully, to get the public sector undertaking (PSU) Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals (GSFC) rail track on rent/lease. Having failed, it tried to purchase land from the farmers for laying the rail track. It was again unsuccessful. Hence, the final game plan, to everyone’s benefit, was introduced: the SUDA DP-2035.
---
*Secretary, Khedut Samaj - Gujarat

Comments

Beyond India-China borders: Economic links expand, political gaps persist

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* Despite growing trade between India and China, a persistent trust deficit continues to shape their bilateral relationship. Expanding economic engagement has not fully resolved political differences, many of which stem from historical legacies as well as contemporary geopolitical concerns. Border disputes—often traced to colonial-era arrangements—remain a significant obstacle to deeper cooperation, while differing strategic alignments in global affairs add further complexity.

GreenTech Summit claims NCR as key green building hub, without pan-India comparison

By A Representative The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), under the Confederation of Indian Industry, held its GreenTech Summit 2026 in New Delhi, where industry representatives, policymakers and sustainability professionals discussed the adoption of climate technologies in India’s built environment.

Gujarat cadre to HDFC: When bureaucratic style hits corporate walls

By Rajiv Shah I was a little amused by the abrupt March 17, 2026 resignation of Atanu Chakraborty —a Gujarat cadre IAS officer of the 1985 batch who retired from the government in 2020—as chairman of HDFC Bank . Much of what may have led to his decision to quit this ostensibly high post—actually a non-executive, part-time role—is by now well known. I followed most of it online with considerable interest, partly because I had interacted with him umpteen times during my stint as The Times of India correspondent in Gandhinagar from 1997 to 2012.

Operation Epic Fury: Making America great at the world’s expense?

By N.S. Venkataraman* The decades-long enmity between Iran and Israel is well-documented, but historically, their direct confrontations have been brief, constrained by the logistical and economic limitations of sustained warfare. The current conflict in the Middle East, however, marks a radical and dangerous departure from this pattern.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

India has been getting its economic growth wrong for two decades, say top economists

By Jag Jivan* India's official GDP figures have misrepresented the trajectory of the world's fifth-largest economy for the better part of two decades, according to a major new working paper published by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE). It finds that India overstated annual growth by up to two percentage points after 2011 — and understated it during the boom years of the 2000s.

'Tax the top': Nationwide protests demand action as 1% control 40% of India’s wealth

By A Representative Civil rights groups across the country observed the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh on March 23, as people from diverse backgrounds united to raise their voices against growing economic inequality. The mobilisations marked the launch of a nationwide campaign against inequality, running from March 23 to April 14 (Ambedkar Jayanti), under the banner of the “Tax The Top” campaign.

Beyond the election manifesto: Why climate is now a kitchen table issue

By Vikas Meshram* March has long been a month of gentle transition, the period when winter softly retreats and a mild warmth signals nature’s renewal. Yet, in recent years, this dependable rhythm has been disrupted. This year, since the beginning of March, temperatures across vast swathes of the country have shattered previous records, soaring to between 35 and 40 degrees Celsius in some regions. This is not a mere fluctuation in the weather; it is a serious and alarming indicator of climate change .

Search This Blog