AHMEDABAD: The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has halted the temporary leasing of civic plots citywide due to allotment irregularities. The standing committee has instructed officials to create a new policy to oversee this process.
The issue was addressed in a standing committee meeting on Thursday, which revealed that, over the last two years, deputy estate officers and deputy municipal commissioners from the corporation’s seven zonal offices had leased plots temporarily without the required committee approval.
Civic officials noted that the current policy lacks clarity on the duration for temporary leases, allowing multiple plots to be leased repeatedly to the same individuals or organizations. In several cases, allottees reportedly demolished fences and constructed unauthorized structures around these plots.
Standing committee chair Kamlesh Patel emphasized that the lack of a clear policy had resulted in procedural errors and the misuse of civic land. “No temporary plot allocations will be allowed until a new policy is established. Officials have been tasked with drafting this policy urgently. Once it is in place, temporary allotments will only be granted for religious purposes,” he stated.
The committee also reviewed various administrative proposals during the meeting, including the approval of new laptops and mobile phones for 192 AMC corporators and other officials.
However, a request for Rs 45 lakh for designing and printing banners, hoardings, and invitation cards was put on hold. Patel explained that this work had previously been approved by the municipal commissioner under his financial authority and has now been returned for renewed approval.
The committee considered rationalizing staff deployment at the ward level, proposing to assign additional personnel to larger geographic wards. Officials were ordered to paint newly installed road-divider railings throughout the city and assess areas prone to monsoon flooding. In response to complaints about substandard bricks used in development projects in Vasna ward, officials were instructed to replace them promptly with materials meeting quality standards.
