High Court tells former CMs to vacate govt houses

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 30

The Nainital High Court (HC) today directed all former Uttarakhand Chief Ministers to vacate the bungalows that were provided to them during their tenure as state heads. They still occupy the government accommodation unlawfully despite demitting the office long back, the court observed.

The court also directed them to pay the market rent for the period they (former CMs) occupied the accommodation.

The High Court’s directive comes amid hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Avdhash Kaushal, founder of the Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK), who has sought the HC’s intervention to ask the state government to withdraw all facilities extended to former Chief Ministers, including the accommodation.

Kartikay Hari Gupta, counsel for the RLEK, said, “The counsels for former Chief Ministers BC Khanduri, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Vijay Bahuguna told the High Court that they would inform on Monday, the next hearing day, as to when they would vacate their residences.”

The court also directed the state government to explain its viewpoint as to what it would do in the case of former Chief Minister ND Tiwari, whose counsel was not present in the court.

Human rights activist and RLEK chairperson Avdhesh Kaushal had in August filed an affidavit in the HC for early hearing and disposal of his petition, which he had filed in 2010 seeking eviction of five former CMs of the state occupying government bungalows. Kaushal asserted that as the former CMs had been occupying government accommodation free of cost for years, they had unnecessary put burden on the exchequer of the state that was still struggling to increase its revenue.

Also, the Supreme Court recently ruled that no former CM was entitled to any government house.