Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has directed district collectors to file First Information Reports against people who repeatedly encroach on government land, while also asking officials to improve action on complaints involving drinking water, roads, land records and drainage.
The directions were issued during the October 2026 state-level SWAGAT grievance redressal meeting, chaired by Patel. More than 170 complainants attended the meeting at the chief minister’s office, according to Nav Gujarat Samay. The report said applications received through district and taluka-level grievance forums were also reviewed.
Across Gujarat, authorities had taken necessary action on applications from more than 2,200 complainants at district SWAGAT meetings and 2,583 complainants at taluka SWAGAT meetings, taking the combined number above 4,953. The meeting is part of the state’s technology-enabled approach to resolving public complaints.
The chief minister instructed collectors to issue farmer account-holder certificates according to the rules and to ensure that government land is protected from encroachment. The order concerning repeat encroachment calls for FIRs against individuals who occupy government land repeatedly. The report did not specify the number of cases covered by the direction, the legal provisions to be used or a deadline for filing the complaints.
The cases placed before the chief minister covered a range of local administrative and infrastructure concerns. A drinking-water issue was raised from Orama village in Olpad taluka of Surat district. A farmer from Shinay village in Gandhidham taluka of Kutch sought an account-holder certificate, while an encroachment complaint concerned government land in Sugariya Modasar village in Anjar taluka of Kutch.
A road construction request from Mota Zinzavadar village in Botad district was also brought before the state grievance forum. Other matters included drainage of rainwater from agricultural fields, drinking-water arrangements, roads, encroachments and re-survey-related issues.
Patel additionally directed officials to rationalise panchayat taxes for rural industries and take action against sarpanches who fail to perform their duties. The directions place district collectors and other local authorities at the centre of implementing decisions arising from public complaints.
The chief minister also asked the irrigation department to develop technical measures to reduce damage to farmers caused by the overflow of lakes. The report did not provide details of the proposed measures or identify the locations where the overflow-related losses occurred.
The next steps will depend on district-level action on the individual applications and on the implementation of the directions issued during the SWAGAT meeting. The reported instructions link grievance disposal with enforcement of public-land protections and delivery of basic civic and rural infrastructure services.
