Administrative change follows court concern over impartiality of inquiry
The Gujarat government has reassigned Surat Municipal Commissioner M. Nagarajan to a post in Gandhinagar after the Gujarat High Court voiced serious reservations about the ongoing probe into a May 30 demolition drive in Nasirnagar, Surat. A late-night notification from the state General Administration Department placed Nagarajan as state project director for the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, while Collector Tejas Parmar has been given additional responsibility as municipal commissioner in Surat.
The administrative reshuffle follows a petition filed by 26 displaced residents challenging the clearance operation that, according to court records, left nearly 100 families without shelter. The high court said the demolition appeared illegal on a preliminary reading and warned that keeping senior administrative and police officers in post could jeopardise the impartiality of the investigation.
“State authorities must remove senior officers, including the civic chief and the deputy commissioner of police, from their posts during the investigation to guarantee an impartial inquiry,” the court observed, according to filings.
The court also rejected a rehousing proposal put forward by the outgoing civic chief. The proposal had sought to rehouse displaced families under an economically weaker section (EWS) scheme in partnership with a non-governmental organisation. The court ruled that public bodies cannot outsource their statutory obligations and that the responsibility for restoring housing rests with the municipal corporation and state officials.
A high-level committee appointed by the state government is examining procedural lapses in the demolition drive. So far, the inquiry has led to the suspension of five junior civic employees, according to official records made available in the matter.
Transfers and interim arrangements
The notification transferring Nagarajan also detailed other administrative adjustments. Ranjeeth Kumar has been appointed secretary of the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission, a post he previously held in additional charge. Nagarajan succeeds Kumar as state project director for Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.
| Officer | Previous Post | New Assignment |
|---|---|---|
| M. Nagarajan | Surat Municipal Commissioner | State Project Director, Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (Gandhinagar) |
| Ranjeeth Kumar | Additional charge: GERC Secretary | Secretary, Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission |
Local impact and legal context
The court’s preliminary finding that the demolition could be illegal, coupled with its insistence on removing senior officers from the local administrative chain of command, has immediate consequences for governance in Surat. The decision to place the collector in additional charge of the municipal corporation is an interim administrative step to ensure continuity while the inquiry proceeds.
- Displaced families: Nearly 100 households were reported without shelter after the May 30 clearance operation in Nasirnagar.
- Legal scrutiny: The Gujarat High Court has asked that senior local officials be kept away from duties linked to the probe to preserve its impartiality.
- Administrative action: Five junior civic employees have been suspended and a high-level committee is investigating procedural lapses.
The court’s comments also emphasised that rehabilitation of affected families is a statutory responsibility of municipal and state authorities, not a matter to be delegated to non-governmental partners. That directive narrows the options available to the civic administration for immediate relief and frames the legal expectations the inquiry must satisfy.
For residents and traders in Surat, the episode highlights how urban clearance operations can rapidly escalate into legal and administrative crises with direct effects on housing, civic services and local governance. The progress of the high-level committee’s probe and any subsequent orders from the High Court will determine whether further transfers or disciplinary actions follow.
State officials released the personnel notification late on Tuesday night; details of the committee's findings and any timeline for resolution have not been disclosed in the court filings available with the petition. The reassignment of the municipal commissioner and the collector’s additional charge are effective immediately, according to the notification.
