A complaint was lodged by a citizen under the Land Grabbing Act, 2020, to reclaim government land worth ₹200 crore near Hill View Resort in Kutch’s Bhuj.

According to government records, only 3,800 square metres of land had been allocated by the Kutch Collectorate for the hotel industry under new, indivisible conditions. 

However, the Hill View Resort’s eight co-owners have been openly accused of encroaching on land belonging to Government Traverse No. 870/1. 

Despite this, the allegedly corrupt government officials have not taken any action and subsequently, the collector has failed to reclaim the encroached land or show any intention to do so.

The land in question is near Hill Garden, Bhuj, survey number 870, plot number 746.

As per the land-grabbing complaint, the encroachment is estimated to be around 30,000 square metres.

The complainant has presented Google images and revenue records showing the encroached area to the committee, and the encroachment is estimated to have a market value of approximately ₹200 crore, as the land is adjacent to the airport road.

The eight co-owners of Hill View Resort have made substantial profits over the last eight years by organising wedding events on a large party plot constructed on the encroached land. They have been charging ₹5-7 lakh per event for the large party plot, ₹1.5-2 lakh for the smaller plot, and ₹0.75 lakh for the hall.

Additionally, a hill beside the hotel has been cut down to create parking space for over 3,000 square metres.

The complainant questions why the local mamlatdar and surveyors have not noticed this obvious encroachment. 

According to the government resolution dated July 16, 2022, the mamlatdar is fully responsible for safeguarding government property, but to this day, they have not filed any reports, seemingly shirking their duties.

The current Kutch Collector has also been accused of inaction regarding this issue. Even though the citizen has formally reported the situation, no action has been taken in over two years. The eight co-owners first started illegally occupying 7,000 square metres of land in 2018, and a complaint was filed at that time.

 In 2016, the then-Collector had allocated 3,800 square metres of this land to private individuals under new indivisible conditions to build a hotel. The eight co-owners — Jagdish  Thakkar, Himmat Dama, Hiten Dama, Prakashkumar Patel, Shailesh Modi, Jigishkumar Modi, Shehnaz Karim Paila, and Ashrafali Agariya — constructed Hill View Resort.

Since then, they have gradually encroached on government land belonging to Traverse Survey No. 870/1. The first complaint about this illegal occupation of 7,000 square meters was filed in 2018.

Also read:

Ahmedabad man sends son-in-law to Australia, usurps land with forged signature