Gujarat: Govt land freed from notorious criminal's encroachment to house new police station
Gandhinagar, June 16
A modern police station is set to be constructed in Adesar in Gujarat's Kutch district on approximately 10,000 square metres of government land that was previously encroached upon and has now been reclaimed by the authorities.
The land, located near the Forest Department office along the Radhanpur-Samakhiyari Highway at the gateway to East Kutch, had reportedly been under illegal occupation by a criminal identified as Harun Ayub Hingorja, where an unauthorised structure operating as 'Sahara Hotel' had been constructed.
Following action by the police and administrative authorities, the encroachment was removed and the land was restored to government possession.
Subsequently, the Adesar police submitted a proposal to the state government and the District Collector seeking approval to develop a police station on the reclaimed land.
The proposal was approved, after which formal possession procedures were completed and steps for construction were initiated.
Senior police officials, including East Kutch Superintendent of Police (SP) Sagar Bagmar, visited the site, completed legal formalities and reviewed the next stages of implementation.
According to officials, the construction will be undertaken by the Gujarat Police Housing Board.
The planned facility is expected to include chambers for the Police Inspector, lock-up facilities, staff rooms, a crime record room, and a PSO room, along with a compound and basic amenities for personnel and visitors.
The development is intended to strengthen policing arrangements along the Radhanpur-Samakhiyari Highway, with an emphasis on improving patrol coverage and law enforcement presence in the region, particularly at a key transit point for East Kutch.
Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi has been advocating the broader policy direction under which properties reclaimed from encroachment are being repurposed for public infrastructure use.
— IANS
Reader Comments
As someone who travels through Kutch frequently, I can say this is long overdue. That Sahara Hotel near the forest office was an eyesore and everyone knew it was illegally built. The local police must be commended for taking action. Now hopefully the new station will have enough staff and vehicles to actually patrol that stretch - it's notorious for smuggling and petty crime.
Good move by the administration but let's not forget that such encroachments happen only when there's negligence. How did this Harun Hingorja occupy government land for so long? Was anyone in the local tehsildar office sleeping? Police stations are great, but preventive monitoring is equally important. Hope this becomes a regular practice across all districts, not just in election season.
Brilliant use of reclaimed land! Instead of just sealing the property or auctioning it off, turning it into a police station serves the public interest directly. I especially liked that they included lock-up facilities and staff rooms - basic amenities are often ignored in such projects. More states should follow this Gujarat model of repurposing encroached land for security infrastructure.
I just hope this doesn't become another token project that gets delayed for years. The article says formalities are complete but we've seen many police stations announced on paper only. Also, building on 10,000 sqm is huge - will they actually staff it adequately? Kutch is a border district and needs proper security infrastructure. The government should allocate at least 20-30 additional constables for this station.
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