HC raps Centre over illegally occupied bungalows

Wants 576 units vacated in two weeks

BQ: ‘People paying taxes, you giving free housing’

“People are paying taxes and you are giving free housing, electricity and water to them (illegal occupants) for years…. This is nothing but your (ministry’s) inefficiency.” the Bench

New Delhi, February 5

Rebuking the Housing Ministry for permitting 576 government accommodation units to be illegally occupied by retired officials and former MPs, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Centre to get them vacated within two weeks and to initiate proceedings to recover dues from such occupants.

A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar also rapped the ministry for not initiating recovery proceedings against the illegal occupants, some of whom have been overstaying for over a decade and have accumulated dues of over Rs 95 lakh to date.

“If someone is overstaying in government accommodation, you do not need a five-year plan to vacate them. Have you given them notices for recovery of dues? Nearly 600 government accommodations were not vacated. Some are overstaying since 1998. Almost every one of them has to pay dues of lakhs of rupees. Why have (you) not vacated them? Why no notice for recovery issued to them?

“People are paying taxes and you are giving free housing, electricity and water to them (illegal occupants) for years. In some cases, the original allottee has died and their legal heirs are in occupation of the residence. This is nothing but your (ministry’s) inefficiency. This casual and lethargic approach indicates connivance by your officials and connivance for such a long period amounts to conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code,” the Bench said while warning about the possibility of FIRs being lodged against the officials concerned.

The directions and observations by the bench came after perusing an affidavit filed by the ministry indicating that 11 government residences were illegally occupied by ex-MPs, who had together racked up dues of around Rs 35 lakh, and 565 units were under unauthorised occupation by retired officials and bureaucrats.

The ex-MPs named in the affidavit included former BJP MP and now Congress leader Udit Raj, former TDP MP Murali Mohan Maganti and former BJP MP Manohar Utawal. — PTI