Ahmedabad: The Gujarat government has rejected a three-year-old proposal by Prakash School seeking a permanent lease of a 4,521 sq m playground plot in Bodakdev at a token rent, a decision likely to deter similar requests from 13 other schools in western Ahmedabad.

The school had first applied in 2023 for permanent allotment of Final Plot No. 475 under TP Scheme 1/B. After the AMC’s standing committee dismissed the proposal in 2023, it was resubmitted and approved by the standing committee before being forwarded to the state government in August 2024, which has now declined the request.

Earlier, the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) had sold plots for school construction in several western areas and leased adjoining land to schools as playgrounds, with conditions that the spaces be used only for sports and remain open to neighbourhood children for a fixed period daily. Since these areas were merged into AMC limits in 2007, annual rent has been collected based on jantri rates, prompting repeated demands for permanent allotment.

The matter had also reached the Gujarat High Court over complaints of restricted access, after which the court directed the civic body to keep playgrounds open and display public access notices. Officials said the Town Planning Act does not allow the sale or permanent transfer of playground land. Currently, 14 private schools in western Ahmedabad hold about 58,040 sq m of playground space on lease. DeshGujarat