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ISSN Approved Journal No: 2456-3315 | Impact factor: 8.14 | ESTD Year: 2016
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Impact Factor : 8.14

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Paper Title: Public Property and its Management Challenges in Urban and Rural Localities in Gujarat
Authors Name: Diptiben D. Joshi
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IJRTI_207290
Published Paper Id: IJRTI2511022
Published In: Volume 10 Issue 11, November-2025
DOI:
Abstract: Public property—roads, parks, lakes, libraries, markets, streetlights, school buildings, and other common assets—anchors social welfare and local development. Yet in many Indian states, management deficits erode public value through encroachment, under-maintenance, vandalism, fragmented ownership records, and weak participation. This mixed-methods study examines how public property is governed and used in urban and rural localities in Gujarat, India. We combine (a) a cross-sectional survey of N = 486 residents across six districts (Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara, Kheda, and Banaskantha); (b) 36 semi-structured interviews with local officials, elected representatives, contractors, and civil society organizers; and (c) 92 rapid field audits of public assets (parks, water bodies, anganwadis/schools, street segments, community halls, and gram panchayat properties). We operationalize five constructs: asset condition, clarity of title/record, operations and maintenance (O&M) capacity, community stewardship, and encroachment/vandalism incidence. Descriptive statistics show better average asset condition in urban wards (M = 3.24/5) than rural gram panchayats (M = 2.91), but higher vandalism and misuse in dense urban areas. Multivariate models indicate that digitized asset inventories (β = −0.29, p < .001) and earmarked O&M budgeting (β = −0.25, p = .002) significantly reduce encroachments, while community stewardship (β = −0.22, p = .004) mitigates vandalism net of population density and income. Interview narratives highlight governance fragmentation (multiple departments claiming jurisdiction), non-transparent allotments, political patronage around informal vending and parking, and weak enforcement of eviction laws balanced against legitimate livelihood concerns. Rural respondents emphasized disputes around gauchar (common grazing land), talao (village ponds), and school compound boundaries. We conclude that improving public property management requires integrated cadastral-to-street digitization, O&M ring-fencing, co-management with user groups, disclosure of allotments and leases, and calibrated, humane encroachment policies. We propose a ten-point reform agenda for Gujarat: unified asset registry, lifecycle O&M norms, best-value procurement, social audits, grievance dashboards, and capacity building for Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). The paper offers a replicable measurement battery, ready for adoption by state departments and researchers.
Keywords: Public property, Gujarat, urban local bodies, Gram Panchayat, asset registry, encroachment, vandalism, O&M, civic participation, Governance
Cite Article: "Public Property and its Management Challenges in Urban and Rural Localities in Gujarat", International Journal for Research Trends and Innovation (www.ijrti.org), ISSN:2455-2631, Vol.10, Issue 11, page no.a153-a160, November-2025, Available :http://www.ijrti.org/papers/IJRTI2511022.pdf
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ISSN: 2456-3315 | IMPACT FACTOR: 8.14 Calculated By Google Scholar| ESTD YEAR: 2016
An International Scholarly Open Access Journal, Peer-Reviewed, Refereed Journal Impact Factor 8.14 Calculate by Google Scholar and Semantic Scholar | AI-Powered Research Tool, Multidisciplinary, Monthly, Multilanguage Journal Indexing in All Major Database & Metadata, Citation Generator
Publication Details: Published Paper ID: IJRTI2511022
Registration ID:207290
Published In: Volume 10 Issue 11, November-2025
DOI (Digital Object Identifier):
Page No: a153-a160
Country: Mehsana, Gujarat, India
Research Area: Social Science and Humanities 
Publisher : IJ Publication
Published Paper URL : https://www.ijrti.org/viewpaperforall?paper=IJRTI2511022
Published Paper PDF: https://www.ijrti.org/papers/IJRTI2511022
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ISSN: 2456-3315
Impact Factor: 8.14 and ISSN APPROVED, Journal Starting Year (ESTD) : 2016

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