E-Paper
Unauthorised retention of govt bungalows: JK estate dept writes to 48 politicos for details on their assets
Estates department on Thursday wrote to the 48 politicians, including former chief minister, two former deputy CMs, former MPs, former ministers and former legislators, who are overstaying in ministerial bungalows, to provide details as to whether they possess any alternate residential accommodation at Jammu or Srinagar.
Following a recent high court direction to the J&K government to furnish information about 48 politicians, who own personal houses but still continue to occupy ministerial bungalows in Jammu and Srinagar by or before September 25, the estates department on Thursday wrote to the politicians to provide the details.
Estates department on Thursday wrote to the 48 politicians, including former chief minister, two former deputy CMs, former MPs, former ministers and former legislators, who are overstaying in ministerial bungalows, to provide details as to whether they possess any alternate residential accommodation at Jammu or Srinagar.
The move by the estates department comes close on the heels of the directions of the high court passed on September 15 in a public interest litigation of 2020.
The estates department, however, could have easily obtained the quick, authenticated and reliable information about the assets and liabilities of these 48 politicians from their nomination papers of the last assembly elections.
On September 15, a division bench comprising chief justice N Kotiswar Singh and justice Rajesh Sekhri had directed the petitioner’s counsel Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed and senior additional advocate general (AAG) SS Nanda appearing for the estates department to furnish details of 48 politicians, who despite having personal houses, continue to occupy ministerial bungalows in twin capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar.
The estates department, in its status report, had given a list of 48 politicians who were allowed to utilise government accommodation in Jammu and Srinagar . While 23 of these were in Jammu, 25 were in Srinagar.
These directions were passed in the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by activist SK Bhalla, who flagged unauthorised retention of bungalows by former legislators.
The PIL also seeks appropriate directions to the estates department to ensure the eviction of illegal occupants from the government accommodation in view of the dissolution of the then state assembly in June 2018.
Despite dissolution of the state assembly, the politicians, mostly from the Bharatiya Janata Party, continue to occupy government accommodation.
The 48 politicians are Ghulam Nabi Azad (former CM), Shamsher Singh Manhas (ex-MP), Muzzaffar Hussain Beigh (former deputy CM), Chander Mohan Gupta (ex-mayor), Kavinder Gupta (ex-deputy CM), Sunil Sharma (former minister), Ravinder Raina (BJP state president), GM Saroori (ex-MLA), Neelam Langeh (ex-MLA), Daleep Singh Parihar (ex-MLA), Bali Bhagat (former minister), Sat Sharma (former minister), Ravinder Sharma (ex-MLC), Shilpy Verma (BJP), Sajjad Gani Lone (ex-MLA), Hakim Mohammad Yaseen (ex-MLA), Sofi Yousaf (ex-MLC), Abdul Majid Paddar (ex-MLA), Vikram Randhawa (ex-MLC), Mohammad Amin Bhat (ex-MLA) and Zafar Iqbal Manhas (ex-MLC).
It may be recalled here that the estates department had evicted 200 politicians including two former CMs--Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah.
The next hearing is scheduled for September 25.
