Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has directed district collectors to prevent encroachments on government land and file first information reports against people who repeatedly occupy such land, according to a report by Nav Gujarat Samay. The instructions were issued during the October 2026 state-level SWAGAT grievance redressal meeting chaired by the chief minister.
Patel also instructed collectors to ensure that farmer account-holder certificates are issued according to rules and that government land under district administration is properly protected and maintained. The directions place responsibility for land records, enforcement and follow-up action with the district collectorates.
More than 170 petitioners appeared before the Chief Minister’s Office during the state SWAGAT meeting. The report said that action was also initiated on applications received through district and taluka-level grievance forums. District SWAGAT meetings accounted for more than 2,200 petitioners, while taluka SWAGAT meetings involved 2,583 petitioners, taking the combined number of applicants to more than 4,953.
The grievances considered at the state-level meeting covered several basic urban and rural service issues. These included the disposal of rainwater from farmers’ fields, farmer account-holder certificates, drinking water supply, roads, encroachments and re-survey matters. The range of complaints shows how district administration functions as the first point of resolution for issues involving land governance, local infrastructure and public services.
Specific complaints included drinking water conditions in Orama village of Olpad taluka in Surat district; the request of a farmer from Shinay village in Gandhidham taluka, Kutch, for an account-holder certificate; and an encroachment complaint concerning government land in Sugariya-Modsar village of Anjar taluka, also in Kutch. A request for construction of a road in Mota Zinzavadar village of Botad district was also raised at the state grievance forum.
The chief minister directed the administration to rationalise panchayat tax for rural industries and to take action against sarpanches who fail to perform their duties, the report said. These instructions extend the meeting’s focus beyond individual grievances to the functioning of local institutions and the revenue mechanisms affecting rural economic activity.
Patel also asked the irrigation department to develop technical measures to reduce losses suffered by farmers when ponds overflow. The instruction links water management with agricultural damage and places the responsibility for identifying technical solutions with the irrigation authorities.
The SWAGAT system is designed to bring citizen complaints before government officials through technology-enabled grievance handling. In this meeting, the issues ranged from land occupation and land-record certification to drinking water, drainage, roads and local body accountability. The next steps identified in the report are enforcement action by district collectors, departmental measures on irrigation and action by local authorities on the grievances placed before the state government.
