The Centre on Monday asked all former Members of Parliament (MPs) to vacate Government bungalows within a week. Majority of such Government bungalows are located in the posh Lutyen’s zone in the national Capital.
A high-level meeting convened by the Housing Committee of the Lok Sabha on Monday decided that if these “squatters” failed to vacate the bungalows, their power, water and gas connections will be cut within three days and heavy penalty will be imposed on them.
Senior BJP leaders and former Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi will retain their bungalow due to security reasons.
The committee had earlier directed several senior Congress leaders, including Jyotiraditya Scindia and Mallikarjun Kharge, to vacate their Government bungalows since they have lost the Lok Sabha elections last month.
Normally, leaders who lose elections to Parliament are supposed to vacate their bungalows, but over the years there has been a trend among several leaders, including former Ministers, refusing to vacate their bungalows citing various reasons.
CR Patil, chairman of the Lok Sabha Housing Committee, told The Pioneer that the committee called a meeting on Monday where it was decided that in three days, power, water and gas connections will be snapped. Patil said most of them will vacate their bungalow within two three days. However, no MPs have stated that they will not vacate their bungalow, he said.
Sources said those having ‘Z’ plus security cover will retain their bungalows. “Joshi is also looking for accommodation in Lutyens’ Delhi and he will vacate his bungalow soon,” said a BJP leader.
According to the rules, former MPs have to vacate their respective bungalows within one month of dissolution of the previous Lok Sabha. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, more than 260 candidates were elected to the Lower House of the Parliament for the first time, including cricketer Gautam Gambhir, Union Minister Smriti Irani and Ravi Shankar Prasad and Bengali actresses Mimi Chakraborty and Nusrat Jahan Ruhi.
The Centre has recently passed the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2019. The Government provides residential accommodation to its employees, Members of Parliament and other dignitaries while they are in service or till the term of their office on licence basis. As per the existing allotment rules, after the expiry of the terms and conditions of the licence, the occupants of such residential accommodations become unauthorised for staying in such accommodation and should vacate the same. However, it is often seen that the unauthorised occupants do not vacate the Government accommodation on expiry of the terms and conditions of the licence as per the rules and uses dilatory tactics to withhold the accommodation.
President Ram Nath Kovind had on May 25 dissolved the 16th Lok Sabha with immediate effect on the recommendation of the Union Cabinet after the Modi Government was formed for a second term. The decision to provide temporary accommodation to new MPs at guest houses has been taken in an apparent bid to reduce the cost of accommodation for the MPs.
Previously, newly-elected MPs were allowed to stay in five-star hotels till the time they were given their officials in Lutyens’ Delhi, the sources were quoted as saying.