Surat city ranks among the top in the state when it comes to encroachment on government land, according to a survey conducted by the district authorities. The survey places the number of encroachments in the city at 9,200.

The matter came to light during a recent meeting of all district collectors called by state Revenue Secretary P Pannirvel.

District Collector Dilip Rawal said: “Illegal encroachment

by private parties is a major issue in Surat. There are lots of pending cases of improper conversion of land usage.”

Now, the revenue department mamlatdards are busy detailing the history of premises, the transaction details as well as details of the encroachers, with the help of the findings.

Rawal told Newsline: “We have instructions from the state secretary for which all mamlatdars are now collecting the details of illegal encroachments. At a preliminary stage, we will issue notices to evacuate the land and if they fail to do so within a fixed time period, we will take action.”

The survey was conducted by private agencies and was commissioned by district authorities following instructions from Gandhinagar.

Rawal admitted that the findings are a couple of years old, adding that Surat faces problem as the demand for land is high.

Surat, which is a hub of diamond polishing and textile

industries, attracts industrialists as well as migrant workers from across the country.

With a high inflow of migrant population, along with the delimitation of the city limits, land rates are at a premium. Government officials refuse to come on record, but admit

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