Legal hurdle takes sheen off proposed Surat jewellery park

The proposed jewellery park at Ichhapore, on the outskirts of Surat city, is facing yet another legal hurdle as the original land owners have filed an application in court seeking a stay on the construction of the park.

The land owners are seeking the stay on the ground that the land was placed under reservation by the state government for some other purpose, but now a jewellery park is being planned there.

The 7,689 sq mt land in Ichhapore village was placed under reservation by the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) on September 29, 1987. The land was originally owned by Parbhu Narottam Patel, who is now dead.

The land was reserved for constructing industrial sheds, but it failed to attract any industrialists. The state government then decided to construct a jail on the land, but the idea was dropped in view of opposition from local residents.

For some months, talks are on for developing a gem and jewellery park at the land. GIDC plans to sell about 1,100 acres of land to the Gujarat Hira Bourse (GHB) which would use it for setting up the park. The state government has already cleared this project.

The project ran into trouble when local farmers opposed the move and demanded that the land be returned to the original owners. The farmers organised a rally and made a representation to the district collector in this regard.

The family of late Parbhu Patel has filed an application in the court of fourth joint civil judge (Jr Div) seeking a stay on construction of the proposed gem and jewellery park.

The applicants said their land was placed under reservation almost 17 years back, but it has not been put into any use so far.

They said the state government is now planning to use the land for a purpose that it was not reserved for.

The said under these circumstances, the government was not entitled to keep the land under its ownership.

They pleaded before the court to grant a stay order on any sort of construction or development on the land.

The court has fixed May 14 as the date for hearing the application. Gujarat Hira Bourse convenor Chandrakant Sanghvi said, "Whatever the dispute is, it is between the state government and the land owners. We are not a party to it. We are interested in purchasing the land for developing a gem and jewellery park, only if all legal hurdles have been cleared."