NDMC to change policy to allocate bungalows

Many senior IAS officers on deputation in the council do not vacate the premises even after their transfers to the Government of India and their parent departments, the members said

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) is planning to revise its housing policy to vacate its sought-after government accommodations in Lutyens’ Delhi, occupied by senior bureaucrats no longer working with the civic body, according to officials aware of the matter.

The NDMC headquarters. (File)

Many senior IAS officers on deputation in the council do not vacate the premises even after their transfers to the Government of India and their parent departments, the members said in a meeting held on Wednesday.

The council discussed the matter at length and issued directions to identify all such properties and to further incorporate revisions in the existing housing policy.

Satish Upadhyay, the vice-chairperson of the council, said that the “inter-pooling policy” which allows the bureaucrats to exchange the government accommodations located elsewhere in Delhi with those in New Delhi should be stopped.

“Many officers continue to occupy the NDMC houses long after they have stopped working with the council. We have directed that the pooling mechanism should be stopped and revised policy should be brought with fair rules for everyone,” he added.

An NDMC official, who requested anonymity, said that the meeting was chaired by the union minister for state Meenakshi Lekhi. “Everyone wants to have a prime property located in Lutyens’ Delhi. Several secretaries and senior ranking officials come to work with NDMC briefly but continue to retain the bungalows long after they move to government of India or other departments. This includes the 11 accommodations that were supposed to be provided to NDMC in exchange for properties on Madhu Limaye Marg but NDMC neither has the possession of its own bungalows or the Motia Khan properties,” the official added.

The civic body also fought a legal battle to get the Chanakyapuri bungalow vacated from its former chairperson Parimal Rai, which was to be allocated to the current vice chairman Upadhyay. Upadhyay was allotted the accommodation on December 3, 2021.

A second NDMC official, also requesting anonymity, said that many of the current senior NDMC officers cannot be allocated an official accommodation as all these properties are occupied.

“In some cases, people have not even left the bungalows after their retirement. A list of all such houses will be submitted in the next council meeting,” the official added.

The move required changes in the existing housing policy of the council. “The core idea is that people should be housed in NDMC accommodations only during their tenure with the NDMC,” the second official added.

NDMC offers around 3,000 properties to its staff ranging from Type 1 to Type 5 flats and bungalows located at prime areas like Satya Sadan, Willingdon Crescent, Moti Bagh, Vinay Marg, etc.