Gujarat High Court clears path for Surat metro rail project

AHMEDABAD:/SURAT: The Gujarat high court on Wednesday cleared the path for the metro rail in Surat city by dismissing a petition filed by 39 shopkeepers of a municipal market in Rudrapura area of the city. Court asked the petitioners, who are tenants of the civic body, to evict the place and make way for the metro rail to roll.
While dismissing the petition against the eviction order and lifting its stay, Justice A S Supehia cited a Supreme Court order and observed that granting the stay, which ultimately may delay the execution of the mega projects, may seriously impede the execution of the projects and attract damages due to the delay.
The HC said that the decision made by the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) asking the petitioners to evict the premises is for the implementation of the Metro Rail Project, which is in the benefit of the public at large. The decision to evict was taken by a district court in August 2021 which had upheld the SMC’s decision to evict the shopkeepers as well as the Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation’s decision to pay them Rs 1.11 lakh each in reparation instead of providing them alternative arrangement.
The municipal market in Kadarshah ni Naal in Rudrapura falls in the route of metro rail – Phase 1. The SMC issued eviction notice to the tenants in January 2021 under the provisions of the Gujarat Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1972. A hearing took place in February 2021 and the SMC issued an eviction order on the same day.
The district court’s order was challenged in HC by citing provisions of Transfer of Property Act. In September 2021, the HC ordered to maintain a status quo.
SMC argued that the lease deed in the case of 39 tenants had expired in 2016 and was not renewed. The civic body was entitled to evict them under provisions of Eviction of Public Premises Act.
The HC dismissed the petitions citing the apex court’s order that the high courts should be extremely careful and circumspect in granting stay on mega projects and entertaining petitions against them because such interference delays the projects and escalates project cost.