Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani has directed civic officials to immediately remove roadside vendors and handcart operators obstructing public roads, as the city faces worsening traffic congestion. The instruction was issued during the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s weekly review meeting and also covered construction-site pollution, bus-stop discipline, bulk-waste registration and water-leak complaints.
Pani rejected a proposal discussed by a deputy municipal commissioner to mark yellow lines on roads and create an on-road arrangement for vendors and handcart operators. According to Divya Bhaskar’s report, the commissioner said the priority was to keep major roads clear and that no vendor should remain on them. Officials in all zones were instructed to remove encroachments causing traffic obstructions immediately.
The commissioner also directed officials to shift roadside vegetable vendors to designated vegetable markets and plots. The instructions came despite the existence of vegetable markets, with the review noting that vendors continued to operate on roads. The report did not specify the roads covered, the number of vendors affected or the deadline for completing the drive.
Air pollution from construction activity was another focus of the meeting. Pani expressed concern over high air-quality readings in areas around the airport and Pirana, where large construction sites are operating. Construction sites that fail to comply with environmental rules, including dust-control requirements, were ordered to be sealed with immediate effect. The report did not identify any site that had already been sealed under the directive.
The commissioner also addressed complaints about Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service buses stopping away from designated bus stands. Drivers were instructed to receive appropriate training and be taught to follow operational discipline so that buses stop at the designated locations used by passengers.
The review meeting also exposed gaps in the civic body’s monitoring of bulk-waste generators. The report said Ahmedabad has 5,848 establishments generating more than 100 kilograms of waste, including marriage party plots and hospitals. Of these, 5,399 had been registered, while the report separately stated that registrations for 297 establishments remained pending. Pani questioned whether senior officials were properly checking reports submitted by lower-level officers after the report recorded only two hospitals in zones such as North-West and South-West, despite those areas having hundreds of hospitals.
The commissioner sought corrective action on complaints logged through the civic body’s CCRS portal regarding water leakages in Ranip and Maninagar. Officials were directed to resolve those complaints urgently. The review meeting therefore placed road clearance, enforcement at construction sites, public transport operations, waste-generator records and civic grievance redressal under immediate administrative scrutiny.
