The Sabarmati River Front Development project was envisaged in 1997 when the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) established a special purpose vehicle, the Sabarmati River Front Development Corporation Limited (SRFDCL), to develop the city's riverfront. Its 1998 proposal not only sought to ambitiously redevelop the riverfront but also brought the relocation and rehabilitation of the riverfront urban poor within the scope of the project. It recommended that six affected slum families be resettled on the riverfront itself, stating that displacing them more than 23 kilometres from their present site would affect their livelihoods negatively. A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the Gujarat high court in April 2005, articulating the rights of the slum dwellers. The court ruling gave a stay order, asking the government authorities to spell out their plans for resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R) and to not evict any family until further orders by the court. However, the rights articulated in the PIL were entirely absent in the rulings. For the next three years, the AMC continued with the construction of the riverfront project without finalising the R&R plan. Despite the stay order, the AMC tried to evict some families from different riverfront slums. The corporation finally submitted its R&R policy to the high court in mid2008. After three phases of resettlement in 200910, the AMC carried out demolitions in the riverfront slums in May 2011. On not having any housing facility or an alternative interim rehabilitation, over 1,000 families, including children and elderly people, were forced to live under the sweltering sun next to their demolished houses. Currently, the displaced people are facing increased unemployment and poverty. The resettlement had profound impact on their livelihood due to the distance. The average distance of the resettlement site from the central city area is seven kilometres. By 2017, at least 25 persons had committed suicide driven by depression because of loss of livelihood. Moreover, slum dwellers who were promised rehabilitation in new flats but were not given any were asked to reside on the grounds of Ganesh Nagar. They were given temporary plots to build a wooden shack with tarp but promised that new homes would be built. There has been no proper census of the hutments in the area and the plan grossly understates the number of affected people at least by 10,000 units, according to Deepak Babaria from Ahmedabad, who has worked closely with the riverfront dwellers' association for rehabilitation. In March 2021, tenders for an extension of the riverfront were floated. The new stretch is set to include an international park, a ferry service and a water taxi, among others. With all the slum hutments already cleared out from the area, the project will not involve rehabilitation and relocation at all and stands to proceed without any roadblocks, despite numerous slum dwellers still waiting to be rehabilitated.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Demand for legal recognition of land rights
Demand for rehabilitation
Complaint against procedural violations
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Region Classification
Urban
Type of Land
Common
Non-Forest (Grazing Land), Non-Forest (Other than Grazing Land)
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)
Status of Project
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
Source/Reference
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
1796.3
Type of investment:
Cost of Project
Year of Estimation
Has the Conflict Ended?
No
When did it end?
Why did the conflict end?
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
Other
Legislations/Policies Involved
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?
What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?
Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:
Non-rehabilitation of displaced people
Forced evictions/dispossession of land
Lack of legal protection over land rights
Legal Status:
In Court
Status of Case In Court
Disposed
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
High Court of Gujarat
Case Number
SCA No. 6280/2005, WP (PIL) No. 18/2012
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Self-immolation/suicide
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
Reported Details of the Violation:
By 2017, at least 25 persons had committed suicide driven by depression because of loss of livelihood.
Date of Violation
Location of Violation
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Sabarmati River Front Development Corporation Limited
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
No
Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached
Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:
HCP Design, Planning and Management Private Limited, Jhaveri Associates, Advance Engineering Consultants
Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
Sabarmati Nagrik Adhikar Manch, Rahethan Adhikar Manch, St. Xavier's Social Service Society
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?
Aditi is a freelance development researcher. She has a Master’s in Development Studies from the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India. She has previously worked with WWF India on forest-based livelihoods and international wildlife trade. She has also worked on the Forest Rights Act in Dangs district in Gujarat. Her paper, “Forest-based livelihoods, Malki practice and Forest Rights Act in Gujarat: The case of Adivasis in the Dangs,” has been published in the book, Adivasis in India: Livelihoods, Resources and Institutions, by Bloomsbury India.
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