Ahmedabad: AMC aims to remove illegal encroachments near the Narendra Modi Stadium for sports infra expansion

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has initiated drives to remove illegal encroachments near the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera to facilitate Phase II of a sports complex expansion, including an Olympic Village and world-class facilities for potential Commonwealth Games and Olympic hosting. Key actions target the Asara Ashram’s 32 unauthorized structures on state land worth ₹500 crore, plus other sites like Bharatiya Seva Samaj, Sadashiv Ashram, and about 150 residential properties.

AMC rejected the ashram’s regularization plea under the Impact Fee policy and directed legal action to expedite demolition via the Appellate Authority. A prior December 2025 drive cleared 29-30 structures, including slum encroachments, as part of surveys identifying expanded illegal occupation beyond original allocations.

After winning the bidding war for the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Nigeria, Ahmedabad has been selected to carry the load as the official organizer of the global event. The Narendra Modi Stadium will host the opening and the closing ceremonies as well as other sporting events. The two major multi-sports hubs, the Narangpura Sports Complex and the under-construction Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave, are being developed with Olympic-standard pools, arenas, and athlete facilities. All the competition venues across Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and Vadodara sit within the travel radius of 30-45 minutes.

Projects like the six-laning of the SP Ring Road, which costs around ₹2,200 crore, and three new bridges worth ₹258 crores are expected to potentially ease the bottlenecks at Makarba, Thaltej, and Sattadhar. The city's mobility is also getting a major boost. Metro Phase II (28 kilometres), ring road expansion, and smart traffic systems with over 6,500 cameras are being efficiently implemented. ₹330 crore in civic projects for water and sanitation are also underway to ensure India’s readiness for the CWG2030.

Several sports facilities across Ahmedabad, including skating rinks, tennis courts, and large complexes, lie unused due to poor maintenance and stalled projects; the old Vadaj skating rink, developed 15 years ago for ₹1 crore, shows no improvement, with a 2010 DNA India report noting its rapid deterioration and stolen plaque from then-minister Anandiben Patel's inauguration, as Leader of Opposition Shehzad Khan Pathan said it “vanished without a trace.” The international tennis stadium near Sardar Patel Stadium has remained stuck for five years amid disputes. The Heritage Stadium has been shut since 2022 with no renovations. A Memnagar Lake court is closed, the ₹731.37 crore Narangpura Complex is inaccessible, and the ₹20 crore-plus Sabarmati Riverfront complexes, Shahpur, have been handed to private operators.