The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has sharply increased the charges for releasing handcarts, stalls, pushcarts and other goods seized during encroachment-clearance drives, while ordering around 20 ready-mix concrete (RMC) plants operating in residential areas to shut within one month or relocate.
The decisions were approved at a meeting of the AMC’s Town Planning and Estate Management Committee on October 15. The revised charges replace rates that had remained unchanged for 23 years, according to a report by Gujarat Samachar.
Under the revised system, people seeking the release of seized handcarts, closed carts, bullock carts, camel carts, sugarcane presses and similar items may have to pay an administrative charge of up to Rs 3,000. A separate charge of up to Rs 1,500 will also be collected depending on the number of days the seized material remains in an AMC warehouse.
The municipal corporation seizes items found obstructing roads and public spaces during its encroachment-removal operations. The items listed in the report include handcarts, ground sheets, pedal rickshaws, tables and chairs. The revised charges are intended to apply when owners seek to have such material released from municipal custody.
The committee also approved a long-pending policy governing RMC plants in Ahmedabad. The policy requires new plants to obtain a no-objection certificate from the Gujarat Pollution Control Board, along with approvals such as a structural certificate, before beginning operations.
The decision comes amid concerns over RMC plants operating in residential neighbourhoods. Ahmedabad is reported to have between 50 and 60 RMC plants, of which approximately 20 are located in residential areas. The AMC has directed these plants to close within one month and shift elsewhere, citing pollution and difficulties faced by local residents.
The new approval places environmental and structural clearances at the centre of the process for future RMC facilities. However, the report does not specify the alternative locations for the plants ordered to relocate, the enforcement mechanism for the one-month deadline, or the detailed slab-wise schedule for the revised seizure and storage charges.
The immediate implementation of both decisions will therefore depend on the municipal corporation’s enforcement instructions, warehouse procedures and action against RMC plants that do not comply with the relocation order. The one-month deadline for the residential-area plants is the next stated milestone.
