Tension in Jay Bhimnagar as PPP scheme sparks protest

RAJKOT: Residents of Jay Bhimnagar, off Kalavad Road, protested the proposed housing project coming up under public-private partnership (PPP) model in the area on Tuesday. The Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) has proposed to build 400 housing units in the area. “There are over 1,300 houses and 150 shops in these slums,” RMC official added.
The situation became tense On Tuesday after people from the Cub Construction Agency, which has been contracted by RMC for survey of Jay Bhimnagar started taking measurements in the area.A group of angry residents protested against the scheme and surrounded the surveyors who were taking measurements. The local residents even stopped the surveyors from doing their work.
People also burnt tyres and barricaded the roads in the area. As the situation turned from bad to worse police was called in. Sources said that local residents sought details from the surveyors about the type of houses being planned in the area.
Following the incident large number of police personnel have been deployed in the area. RMC has planned housing scheme under PPP model at five different locations for which tenders have already been approved.
RMC has awarded the tender for five slums to qualified agencies which included Cub Construction (Ghanshyamnagar), J P Kheradia Construction Pvt Ltd (Bharatnagar (A)), RED Organizers Pvt Ltd (Bharatnagar (B)), Cub Construction (Jay Bhimnagar) and JP Infrastructures Pvt Ltd (Bishop House).
Earlier, RMC had demolished slums in Raiyadhar where similar housing scheme is being planned.