Pursuant upon the directions of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh high court, the J&K administration on Tuesday filed a compliance report and submitted that a former BJP MP, two former ministers and former Jammu mayor have been evicted from the government bungalows.
The report said that former MP Shamsher Singh Manhas, ex-ministers Bali Bhagat and Abdul Rahim Rather, and former Jammu mayor Chander Mohan Gupta had been evicted from the residences they had retained.
Estates department deputy director Ajay Bharti submitted the compliance report via senior additional advocate general SS Nanda before the high court.
On November 18, a division bench of the high court, comprising chief justice N Kotiswar Singh and justice Moksha Khajuria Kazmi had directed the administration to furnish additional information about 13 former ministers and ex- legislators who continued to occupy ministerial bungalows and government accommodation at Jammu and Srinagar.
Bharti said the compliance report that a government quarter issued in the name of Muzaffar Hussain Shah at Srinagar’s Pratap Park has been allotted as office accommodation in favour of Awami National Conference and another quarter issued in the name of former BJP MLC Vikram Randhawa has been allotted as office accommodation in favour of the BJP.
“The remaining eight former legislators and political persons were issued notices seeking details as to whether they possessed any alternate residential accommodation at Jammu or Srinagar,” the report said.
While estates department did not receive any response from the four former legislators, Yasir Reshi, Sofi Yousaf, Mohammad Amin Bhat and Bashir Ahmad Darothers did respond to the notices.
Former minister Sunil Sharma and political persons Reyaz Ahmad Mir and Sonaullah Lone said in their responses that they did not have any house in Jammu or Srinagar. Former MP Fayaz Ahmad Mir said that he doesn’t have any house in Srinagar.
The case stems from a public interest litigation filed by SK Bhalla against the Union Territory of J&K and others, wherein he had drawn the attention of the high court towards illegal occupation of ministerial bungalows and government quarters by former MPs, ministers, legislators and political persons in violation of the rules.
On November 18, the estates department had filed a compliance report indicating the reply of 35 occupants, but 13 were left out and the petitioner’s counsel advocate, Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed, had flagged the matter seeking directions to the government to provide complete information.
The case will come up for hearing on December 15.
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