E-Paper
HC raps CITCO on house allotment
Taking a strong note of irregularities in the allotment of government accommodation by the Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation (CITCO), the Punjab and Haryana high court has imposed embargo on CITCO for further allotment of houses to its employees.
Taking a strong note of irregularities in the allotment of government accommodation by the Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation (CITCO), the Punjab and Haryana high court has imposed embargo on CITCO for further allotment of houses to its employees.
The court of Justice Mahesh Grover on Thursday also directed a senior official from the UT administration to remain present in the court on the next date of hearing scheduled on January 16 for explaining the illegalities in the allotment of government houses. The directions were issued on a petition filed in the court by an employee of the administration.
Around 1,000 employees of CITCO will be affected with the move. As per laid down norms, the employees of CITCO are not entitled to government accommodation. A full bench of the high court in a decision in 1985 had held that the employees of central government undertakings, employees of government control corporation for state of Punjab, Haryana and UT such as CITCO are not entitled to the allotment of government houses.
Flouting the directions of the court and house allotment rules with impunity, CITCO over the years had been allotting houses to its employees.
A total of 50 different types of government houses stand occupied by CITCO employees.
The petitioner maintains that eight employees of CITCO, who otherwise are not eligible either under the rules or in accordance with the law framed by court, have been allotted government houses. It is thus apparent that neither the administration nor CITCO is giving due regard to the rules.
The petitioner further stated that a house falling vacant on the retirement of an employee has to come in the Chandigarh administration general pool and can thereafter be allotted in accordance with government residences allotment rules, 1996, strictly in accordance with seniority.
The administration and CITCO are however violating their own rules and policy, besides violating the law laid down by the court in making the allotment of government houses indiscriminately with no respect to regard for seniority though the fact remains that the employees working with CITCO are not even eligible for being considered for allotment of government house in Chandigarh.
UT's reply to court
The UT administration in an affidavit submitted in the court stated that as per earlier allotment rules of 1972, some government houses were transferred to CITCO to be allotted to employees working under CITCO. However, after new allotment rules called government residencies allotment rules, 1996, came into force it provided that "the houses already allotted to the employees of the ineligible offices and other such categories shall be got vacated on their transfer out of Chandigarh, resignation, dismissal, retirement or death." This decision was conveyed to CITCO on November 19, 2006.
The administration in the affidavit claimed that they had several times conveyed to CITCO for reverting the vacant houses back to the "Chandigarh administration general pool". However, it continued with the allotment of vacant houses to its own employees.
MHA orders repatriation of CITCO director
The ministry of home affairs (MHA) has ordered repatriation of CITCO director DK Tewari to his home state of Punjab. Tewari had joined the UT administration in 2008 and his term is coming to an end on December 31.