‘No construction permissible on water body’, Gujarat HC directs removal of illegal structures on Isanpur Lake
Updated: Nov 21st, 2025
Gujarat High Court has rejected a petition challenging the Amdavad Municipal Corporation’s (AMC) notice to demolish alleged illegal constructions on the Isanpur lake bed, ruling that no construction is permissible on a water body under Section 37 of the Gujarat Land Revenue Code, 1879.
A single-judge bench of Justice Mauna Bhatt observed that “when the construction was done unauthorisedly by the petitioners on a water body, the same is required to be removed as expeditiously as possible” as it violates both the Gujarat Land Revenue Code and settled Supreme Court jurisprudence.
The court noted that the petitioners failed to produce even a single document proving they had obtained permission from the erstwhile Gram Panchayat for the constructions, which include residential houses and a temple claimed to be over five decades old. “Merely long possession of the property and payment of tax bills and other incidental charges shall not create title in favour of the petitioners,” the bench held.
The disputed land, originally revenue survey Nos. 629, 630, and 631, was reorganised under Town Planning Scheme No. 53 (Isanpur) into final plot Nos. 160, 161, and 162. These final plots remain government-owned, with part of the land subsequently handed over to AMC for development and beautification of Isanpur lake. Official maps clearly mark the area as a water body.
Rejecting the petitioners’ claim that their structures stand only on the lake’s bank and not on the water body itself, the court found no evidence to support the contention.
On September 8, 2025, AMC had issued notices to the seven petitioners directing them to vacate the premises within 21 days, stating that the constructions were on a water body where no construction activity is allowed.
However at the request of the petitioners’ advocate the court further granted two weeks stay on notice dated September 8, 2025 issued by AMC from the date of the order of the high court.
