Surat Municipal Commissioner Transferred After HC Heat Amid Nasir Nagar Demolition Backlash
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Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
In a late-night administrative shake-up, the Gujarat government abruptly transferred Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) Commissioner M. Nagarajan out of his role following sharp criticism from the Gujarat High Court over the controversial Nasir Nagar demolition drive.
Nagarajan, an IAS officer, has been reassigned as the State Project Director for Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan in Gandhinagar, replacing Ranjit Kumar J. Surat District Collector Tejas Parmar has been handed additional charge as the Surat Municipal Commissioner with immediate effect.
Contradictory Claims And A High Court Scrutiny
The sudden midnight transfer order issued by the General Administration Department comes amidst mounting scrutiny over the SMC’s handling of the demolition in Nasir Nagar. During court proceedings surrounding multiple petitions filed by affected residents and suspended civic officials, the High Court adopted a stern stance regarding the role of senior officers and directed that accountability be established.
The controversy deepened after initial statements from the civic body denied any involvement in the demolition. However, Commissioner Nagarajan later backtracked, acknowledging that SMC teams had indeed executed the drive. This sharp contradiction created severe embarrassment for the local administration and raised questions regarding official credibility.
Suspended Engineer Points Finger At Top Boss
The demolition fall-out had already led to the suspension of five municipal officers, including executive engineers Sujal Prajapati and Jayang Ramjiwala. The matter reached a boiling point when Sujal Prajapati filed a petition in the High Court asserting that the demolition was executed directly on the verbal instructions of Commissioner Nagarajan himself.
Prajapati’s statement shifted the focus of the judicial inquiry directly onto top leadership. Although the state government's official transfer order refrains from explicitly linking Nagarajan's reassignment to the Nasir Nagar episode, the timing—coming right on the heels of the High Court's observations—has sent ripples through Gujarat's administrative corridors.
