Gandhinagar, Aug 27 — Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Thursday directed the district administration and the Geology and Mining Commissioner to take immediate and stringent action against alleged illegal mining on gauchar land in Mehsana district, while ordering an inquiry into the alleged illegal renting of houses allotted under a government housing scheme in Patan district.
The directions were issued during the August State SWAGAT Online grievance redressal programme, held shortly after Patel returned from his visit to the United States and Canada.
The monthly programme, conducted on the fourth Thursday of every month, allows citizens to place unresolved grievances directly before the Chief Minister.
Taking serious note of a complaint about illegal mining on gauchar land in Kada village of Mehsana district, Patel instructed the district administration and the Commissioner of Geology and Mining to take immediate action.
In another case from Patan district, the Chief Minister took note of a complaint alleging that beneficiaries of houses provided under a housing scheme were illegally renting out the allotted properties.
He directed the District Collector to conduct a proper inquiry and take necessary action based on its findings.
Citizens from Gandhinagar, Aravalli, Ahmedabad, Gir Somnath, Sabarkantha and Vav-Tharad districts appeared before the Chief Minister with various grievances during the State SWAGAT programme.
Patel directed officials to ensure each representation was examined and resolved promptly and appropriately. More than 171 complainants appeared at the Chief Minister’s Office during the August State SWAGAT.
In addition, action was initiated on 2,285 representations received through District SWAGAT and 3,028 through Taluka SWAGAT. Together, these accounted for 5,313 grievances during the month.
The state government has used the SWAGAT mechanism as a platform for direct grievance redressal, with Patel regularly directing district authorities to resolve matters within stipulated timeframes and ensure citizens are not subjected to unnecessary administrative delays.
Additional Principal Secretary attended the programme, along with Chief Minister Dr Vikrant Pandey; Officers on Special Duty Dhiraj Parekh and Rakesh Vyas; Collectors of the concerned districts; and senior officials from various government departments.
The latest directions also come after the Chief Minister had previously taken up complaints involving encroachments and other disputes concerning gauchar land during SWAGAT proceedings, including directing authorities to enforce decisions on the removal of encroachments.