Prabas Patan: The District Collector of Gir Somnath today provided a comprehensive update on the demolition drive carried out by the district administration against illegal encroachments near the iconic Somnath Temple.

The District Collector, DD Jadeja, said, “There was heavy encroachment on Survey No. 1851 and 52 near Somnath Temple, covering a total area of around 102 acres and worth over Rs. 320 crores. This encroachment included commercial, residential, and religious structures. We have cleared this encroachment in four phases. The first phase was carried out on 08-10-2023, when around 26 commercial encroachments were demolished. The second phase was conducted on 27-01-2024, when we cleared 174 permanent and temporary houses. The third phase was carried out on 06-08-2024, during which around 40 encroachments, including kachcha and pakka houses, were cleared. The last phase of demolition was carried out on 28-09-2024, during which we cleared 9 religious structures as well as 45 other encroachments.”

“These encroachments were not religion-based; all communities had their encroachments on the land. Without any partiality, we have cleared the encroachments as the land belongs to the government. People complained to us about issues arising from the encroachments, so we conducted a drive in 145 villages and freed 38 lakh square meters of area, which has a market value of around Rs. 551 crores. We have cleared over 3,095 encroachments,” he added. DeshGujarat