The Gandhinagar district administration, along with the police, began a massive demolition drive on Thursday morning to clear illegal encroachments from government land. Officials said more than 700 structures had come up on public property across the city.

The drive is being carried out in areas including GEB, Pethapur, Charedi, and along the banks of the Sabarmati River. Authorities said the illegal constructions had taken up large portions of government land and were blocking development projects.

Giving details, Gandhinagar SP Ravi Teja Vasamshetty said, "The administration and police have initiated a drive to remove encroachments covering one lakh square meters. So far, 100 illegal structures have been demolished, with a total of 600 encroachments slated for removal in the coming days."

He added that the value of the reclaimed land is nearly ₹1,000 crore. The operation has deployed more than 700 police officials, 20 administrative teams, and 20 JCB machines.

This is not the first time Gujarat has seen large-scale action against encroachments. In May, Ahmedabad authorities cleared illegal structures spread over more than 2.5 lakh square meters in the second phase of a major drive.

At the time, Joint Commissioner of Police Sharad Singhal said, "In the first phase, about 1.5 lakh square kilometres of area was cleared (illegal encroachment) by the corporation, and we had made proper arrangements to ensure law and order. The second phase has started from today, and an adequate police force has been deployed. Senior officers are present on the spot, and the public is also cooperating with us."

In another drive in May, Rajkot Police demolished 60 illegal constructions tied to 38 people with criminal records, including cases of murder, attempted murder, and loot.

Following the action, Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi said, "The state government and police are committed to taking strict action against individuals who occupy government land and engage in criminal activities."