Retired judges, law officers among ‘beneficiaries’ in housing scheme

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 28

If allegations in an application filed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court are to be believed, a housing society for Haryana Government employees illegally inducted retired Judges and law officers. Besides this, some of the office-bearers were “guilty of gross irregularities and furnishing false affidavits”.

The applicant added that the allottees could not own house, flat or plot in their name or in the name of spouse or dependent children in any urban estate or colony developed by HUDA, Improvement Trust or municipal committee. But at least 40 members, including an IAS and an HCS officer, had plots, but were still members.

Taking up the application filed by Sunil Kumar through counsel Harmanjit Singh Sethi, Justice Daya Chaudhary has put the State of Haryana, HUDA and society on notice. Justice Chaudhary has also fixed February 4 as the next date of hearing in the case.

Sethi added that the society was initially allotted 3.5 acres in Sector 27, Panchkula, under the reserved category for construction of flats and dwelling units. But it was able to procure allotment of a plot in Sector 6, Mansa Devi.

Elaborating, Sethi added the property prices in an around Panchkula were very high when the plot was allotted. The office-bearers, being IAS and IPS officers, “developed a dishonest intention to get an alternate site”. They surrendered the plot on the pretext of it being in a seismic zone. Sethi added: “It is different matter no other society or individual surrender plot on the flimsy ground propounded by the society”.

Sethi asserted one of the conditions in a group housing scheme floated by HUDA in 2001 was that the members were not belonging to any society to whom land had earlier been allotted by HUDA in its schemes.

But despite the embargo, the society “being managed by high ups applied for fresh allotment of plot and due to their manipulation they were able to procure allotment of plot No. 1, Sector 6, Mansa Devi, Panchkula district”.

Sethi added another aspect completely overlooked by the HUDA and the State of Haryana was the illegal induction of officers of Haryana Advocate-General and former Judges who became members of group housing societies floated for Haryana Government employees/ officers.

Sethi submitted they were guilty of false affidavits.

He added Advocate-General, be it Assistant, Deputy, or Additional, was not a Haryana Government employee and, thus, debarred from becoming a member of a society, in this case of New Haryana Co-Operative Society.

“Till date policy of HUDA is that officers of Advocate-General are not deemed to be officers of the Government of Haryana/State Government employees,” Sethi added.