JOIN USThe Ministry of Urban Development has issued fresh eviction orders to 16 former ministers in UPA government to vacate their bungalows after the conclusion of quasi-judicial proceedings.
The 16 leaders, who are not members of either the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha, are being served eviction order following conclusion of hearing by the concerned quasi-judicial authority, said a senior Urban Development Ministry official.
The former ministers, including Ajit Singh, Kapil Sibal, Srikant Jena, Krishna Tirath, Farooq Abdullah and Beni Prasad Verma have been told to vacate the government accommodation without any further delay.
The eviction cases were referred to the quasi-judicial authority by the Directorate of Estate after the expiry of one month grace period on July 26.
Former ministers Girija Vyas and Krishna Tirath presented their cases in person while Sibal, Singh, Abdullah and Pallam Raju sent their representatives to the quasi-judicial authority to present their case.
Some leaders, like Sibal, informed that they have vacated the bungalows and only formalities like obtaining vacation certificates remained.
Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu in a written reply in the Lok Sabha informed that the 16 former ministers who had stayed unauthorisedly in government bungalows for a month as on July 26 were issued eviction notices.
Naidu also informed that these former ministers owed a total rental due of about Rs 21 lakh per month of unauthorised stay.
Other ministers referred to in Naidu’s reply to Lok Sabha include Sachin Pilot, Jitendra Singh, Pradip Jain Aditya, P Balram Naik, Killi Kriparani, Manikrao Gavit and Lalchand Kataria.
The official said about 70 of the former MPs out of the 258 served eviction notices are still to vacate their official accommodation and these cases are being pursued by eviction teams.
The Rajya Sabha secretariat informed to an RTI query that Congress member of Upper House Motilal Vora occupies nine government houses in national capital. The government said he was allotted four bungalows and two apartments. However, Vora claimed that he was allotted only two houses.