SMC rejects diamond trader Patel's demand for land acquisition

A request by city-based diamond trader Lalji Patel, who was recently in news for buying Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pin-stripped suit, to not acquire his land falling under the civic body's draft Town Planning Scheme has been rejected by municipal authorities here.
The Surat Municipal Corporation said that it rejected Patel's demand and sent the draft Town Planning Scheme to the Gujarat state government for its final decision.
"The diamond trader made a representation to the SMC that his land should not be acquired as per the draft scheme. However, we rejected his demand," SMC Town Planning Committee Chairman Babu Jeerawala told PTI.

Patel's plot which comes is around one lakh square metres, while 40,000 square metres of land would be acquired, Jeerawala said.
"After we declared the town planning scheme, we invited objections from affected people. Then, they made representations a month and a half ago, which we rejected the day before yesterday," he said.
Patel had purchased Modi's pin-striped suit for Rs 4.34 crore at an auction event held by Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) in February.

As per the SMC's draft scheme, 40 per cent of private land has to be acquired for development. Patel holds a 1 lakh square feet of land in Variyav village near Surat which the SMC included in its draft planning scheme.

SMC opposition leader Nitin Barucha alleged that Gujarat minister of state for Youth and Cultural Affairs Nanubhai Vanani had also urged the body to not acquire Patel's land, but it was rejected as well.
"Nanubhai Vanani urged the civic body to not to acquire land of around 40,000 square metres as per SMC's draft Town Planning Scheme recommends," Baurcha said.
Barucha also provided documents showing the demand made by diamond trader Patel and Vanani backing his demand.
"Lalji Patel, the owner of Dharmanandan Diamonds who had bought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's suit, was favoured by Nanu Vanani to exclude his land from the SMC's draft town planning scheme. Forty per cent of his land was supposed to be acquired but Vanani recommended to the SMC, to exclude Patel's land from the town planning draft," Barucha alleged.

Vanani was not available for his response despite several attempts.