Ahmedabad: The Gujarat high court on Monday sought a reply from the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) on suspended executive engineer Sujal Prajapati’s allegations that he was ordered to remove encroachments in Nasirnagar by the municipal commissioner.Prajapati was suspended after an inquiry into the May 30 demolition of Nasirnagar slums in Surat, which residents termed illegal for not following due procedure and demanded rehabilitation. In an affidavit before the high court, Surat municipal commissioner M Nagarajan said no authority had ordered demolition in the area, and claimed he was not aware of it. He told the court that after receiving complaints, he instituted an inquiry and suspended five officials, including Prajapati.Challenging his suspension, Prajapati placed before the high court a WhatsApp chat he said showed the commissioner directing him to carry out road-widening and encroachment removal. He alleged the commissioner’s directions were issued at somebody’s behest, citing a forwarded message he said he received from the commissioner. His counsel read out the message: “Ward No 7, near Chandrashekhar Azad bridge… Surat Municipal Corporation’s 60 ft road which is mostly open, but a small part is an encroachment ahead, for which the charge has been given to Sujal Prajapati to open the road by removing encroachment. Instruct in this regard.” Prajapati also alleged the commissioner told him, “Complete as soon as possible.”Prajapati further alleged that after he complied, the commissioner applauded the action in a WhatsApp group of officials and approved it after being sent images from the site before and after the operation. He claimed the commissioner later behaved before the high court as if he did not know anything.A co-ordinate bench of the high court is scheduled to hear Nasirnagar residents’ plea against the demolition on July 20. On Prajapati’s petition, Justice Niral Mehta sought the corporation’s response next week.
