Sealing drive too slow - Gujarat HC

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat high court on Tuesday pulled up the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) for being “very slow” in its sealing drive. It also gave shopkeepers on CG Road one month to find a plot for proper parking. The court directed the AMC to take action against all building owners who do not follow by-laws.


The shop-owners’ association on CG Road told the court that they had identified four plots where temporary parking facility could be created. A free taxi service would ferry customers from the parking lot to different places. However, the division bench, headed by the Chief Justice asked the association to locate the plot within 500 metres of the road.
The court told the association that the new parking space should be as large as 30 per cent of the FSI of all buildings on the stretch. The Chief Justice also
asked the traders not to include the margin space in front of the buildings while measuring the FSI. “If proper space for parking is not created, I will get extra construction pulled down till my retirement,” the CJ warned.
The high court gave shopkeepers of CG Road and Gopal Tower in Maninagar one month to set things right and obtain due clearances from the authorities. When the court asked AMC whether the situation was the same as CG Road in the in rest of the city, the civic body’s counsel said yes. The judges instructed AMC officials to increase the pace of their sealing drive. “You people are very slow in sealing property and this can be seen from the fact that very few people have approached this court,” the chief justice commented.
This proceeding has been going on for last two years on various applications filed by advocate Amit Panchal. He has demanded that earlier orders issued by the high court for implementation of building laws and traffic rules be followed in the right manner.
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