Surat: The development of the new Suman High School building in Ward 8 has been temporarily halted by the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) following protests by both BJP and AAP councillors on Friday. The decision was taken during a standing committee meeting, which ordered that the status quo be maintained on the matter.Earlier, SMC had approved the construction of the school in Ward 7, Katargam Ved, and work was set to begin at that location. However, the school site was later shifted to Ward 8, Dabholi Singanpore, sparking concerns among local councillors.BJP councillors Narendra Pandav and Dipti Sakariya, along with AAP councillors Kishore Rupareliya and Jyoti Patel from Ward 7, demanded that the school be built at the originally approved location. In protest, AAP councillors staged a dharna through the night on Thursday, insisting that the school be developed in Ward 7 as initially planned.Sources in SMC stated that the land in Ward 8 where the school construction had begun was originally reserved for commercial purposes. While plans were underway to officially change the land’s designation to educational use, construction had started prematurely. The project has now been paused pending further decisions.“A status quo is to be maintained on the entire issue until the next decision is taken. The ongoing construction in Ward 8 has also been put on hold,” said Rajan Patel, chairman of the standing committee.No decision has yet been made regarding the school in Ward 7.
