Rajkot demolition in Gujarat: Read how emotional media reports without legal context are attempting to defend encroachments
· OpIndia
The massive demolition drive conducted by the administration in the Jungleshwar area of Rajkot has once again brought about a familiar discussion in the country. While the government has claimed that the demolition drive was required to remove the illegal structures and establish law and order in the area, several news reports have mainly focused on emotional visuals of affected families, crying residents and demolished homes.
As bulldozers rolled into the community situated along the banks of the Aaji River, discussions quickly shifted from legal implications to the stories of human suffering.
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Scenes shown in various news reports included broken houses, scattered school books, women in tears and residents protesting on the streets. However, supporters of the demolition drive have pointed out another important question: whether these structures were legally built, and whether they have largely remained missing from public discussions.
According to officials and local sources, the land where demolitions took place had been under dispute for a long time, and many structures were constructed without proper approval.
The Jungleshwar region has been reported to be a sensitive zone for several years. Residents who spoke with OpIndia claimed that the locality had gained a reputation for criminal activity and was considered difficult even for the police to enter. The area had earlier come into focus during a major electricity-related scam related to PGVCL, which involved crores of rupees. It has also been reported that several people involved in illegal activities have been arrested from the same region in the past.
Administration says that the action was part of its legal responsibility
Government officials claim that removing illegal encroachments is not an act of punishment but a regular obligation of the government. Urban planners often point out that unauthorised constructions on riverbanks, government property, drainage areas or public-use spaces create serious long-term risks.
These areas have the potential to increase the risk of flooding, block water flow, increase fire hazards and make city management difficult.
The Jungleshwar slum, which is located near the Aaji River, has been reportedly linked to all these problems for a long time.
According to the administration, demolition drives of this scale are usually undertaken only after conducting surveys and administrative formalities are carried out over a period of time. According to the administration, the enforcement of land rules becomes necessary when repeated violations continue despite warnings.
The authorities have also pointed out that if the demolished buildings had proper approval or ownership documents, residents could have challenged the demolition in court.
So far, there has been no concrete legal evidence that the buildings were legal, and the discussion has been centred on the emotional response and humanitarian aspect of the issue as reported in the media.
Supporters of the drive say that sympathy for displaced families is understandable, but it should not replace discussions about land ownership, planning rules and legal compliance.
They believe that allowing illegal occupation of land simply because people have lived there for years would weaken the rule of law and encourage further encroachments in growing cities.
Claims of crime hub add another dimension
Another major aspect highlighted by the state government relates to security concerns linked to the Jungleshwar area. Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghvi said, “The locality had slowly become a safe space for criminals”.
Officials say unplanned settlements often create conditions where monitoring becomes difficult due to narrow lanes, lack of proper addresses and absence of official records of residents.
The police also believe such environments can unintentionally protect illegal networks. Sanghvi indicated that several individuals connected to ganja and drug-related activities had earlier been arrested in this area. According to authorities, ignoring such developments could allow criminal systems to grow stronger over time.
Officials argue that when any locality begins functioning outside normal administrative control, the government is left with limited choices: either delay action and allow problems to grow or take strict measures to restore order. While strong action may cause short-term hardship, authorities say it helps prevent larger security and governance challenges in the future.
Media coverage and the debate over emotional reporting
The demolition has also sparked criticism about how anti-encroachment drives are reported in parts of the media. Several news outlets highlighted emotional headlines focusing on personal tragedies faced by residents.
One report described a widow questioning where she would go with her children after losing her home during the removal of over 1,000 structures. Another headline spoke about bulldozers moving forward while young girls cried outside their demolished houses. Yet another report focused on families struggling to survive with limited income after losing shelter during the demolition of nearly 1,400 homes.
Newspaper Publications such as Divya Bhaskar, Gujarat News and BBC Gujarati published reports that were largely centred on the grief, anger and uncertainty of residents. Critics of this reporting argue that the coverage presents only one side of the situation by emphasising emotional reactions without equally examining the legal status of the land or the administrative process behind the demolition.
The same trend was also visible on several YouTube-based news platforms such as Jamavat, Nirbhay News and Newsroom Gujarat. These channels conducted ground reporting by speaking directly to affected families and projecting themselves as voices representing displaced residents. While such coverage brought attention to human struggles, supporters of the government action argue that it rarely addressed questions related to illegal occupation or long-standing law enforcement concerns.
It has been observed that similar trends have been noticed in previous anti-encroachment drives in Gujarat and other parts of India, including drives in the Chandola area of Ahmedabad. In many such cases, emotional storytelling dominated headlines while discussions about land legality, planning violations or security risks received comparatively less attention
Balancing compassion and law enforcement
The situation in Jungleshwar highlights a larger challenge faced by governments across rapidly growing cities, balancing humanitarian concerns with the enforcement of urban laws. No demolition drive happens without affecting lives, and displacement naturally leads to distress among families. At the same time, authorities argue that ignoring illegal settlements can lead to bigger problems in the future, including uncontrolled urban expansion and increased criminal activity.
Supporters of the demolition believe that showing suffering without context creates a partial picture. According to them, compassion has an important place in journalism, but it should be accompanied by facts about ownership, notices issued, legal challenges filed and reasons behind administrative action.
Certain observers also point out that past experiences in other regions have shown how illegal settlements later became centres for organised crime or illegal migration networks. They argue that preventive action, though unpopular at the moment, may help avoid serious risks later.
Action seen as a preventive step for the future
Although the administration has not yet shared every detail explaining why the demolition drive was initiated at this particular time, statements from senior officials suggest that long-standing concerns regarding crime and unauthorised occupation played a major role.
The Deputy Chief Minister of the state, Harsh Sanghvi, has made statements about the arrests that have occurred in the past due to drugs and illegal activities, which have strengthened the administration’s stand.
Supporters of the move believe that delaying action could have allowed the area to grow into a larger problem affecting not only Rajkot but also wider regional security and urban management. According to this view, strict enforcement today may prevent more serious consequences years later.
The demolition in Jungleshwar has therefore become more than just a local administrative procedure. It has turned into a wider discussion about governance, media responsibility and the balance between empathy and legality. While the emotional stories continue to receive widespread public attention, authorities insist that maintaining the rule of law sometimes requires decisions that may not be popular but are considered necessary for public interest.
As debates continue, one thing remains clear: the Jungleshwar demolition has once again brought forward the ongoing national question of how cities should deal with illegal encroachments while addressing the human impact that inevitably follows such actions.