Guj High Court stays SGCCI's allotment of land for trade centre

The Rs 100-crore trade centre project of the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SGCCI), has run into rough weather, as the Gujarat High Court (HC) has stayed allotment of land for it.

After the Chamber submitted a proposal for developing the trade centre, the government agreed to allot one lakh sq mt land at Bhimpore village, situated around 16 km from Surat, for the project. The land was identified, and the chamber even paid Rs 1.62 crore to the state.

However, the residents of Bhimpore opposed allotment of the land to the chamber, which belongs to the local Sahakari Mandali. The residents reasoned that the land is presently occupied by a school and other structures of public utility and hence should not be allotted to the chamber.

The villagers also argued that the land, which the state government wants to allot, was barren earlier, but has been made fertile after putting in lot of efforts and money. They asked the government to drop the idea of allotting the land to the Chamber and suggested that some other plot be provided for the project.

The villagers also made a representation to the district collector Vatsala Vasudeva, protesting allotment of the Mandali's land, but their plea fell on deaf ears. So, the Bhimpore residents approached the Gujarat HC, seeking appropriate relief.

Their case got a shot in the arm, as the HC granted a stay against allotment of the land to the Chamber on Wednesday. The HC also fixed August 31 as the next date of hearing.The trade centre is a Rs 100-crore project, which the Chamber would develop in collaboration with the state government.

The centre would provide the much-required support system to the Surat and south Gujarat industry for conducting trade.

The trade centre would comprise a convention centre, research & development centre, exhibition hall and a hotel with golf course. It would also be used for holding buyer-seller meets. The project, would be completed within three years of the Zero date.