The public interest litigation filed in 2010 in the High Court of Uttarakhand seeking withdrawal of the facilities extended to former Chief Ministers is listed for final hearing in the High Court on April 23.
The petitioner, Rural litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RlEK) chairman Avdhash Kaushal contends that facilities including official residences allotted to ex-CMs who own “palatial” bungalows, staff and vehicles is illegal which the small mountain State of Uttarakhand can ill-afford.
The petitioner, Kaushal also wrote to the Governor eliciting focus on the issue. He stated, “Each of the ex-CMs has a residence of their own and can afford to live in it. Ex- CM and MP Bhagat Singh Koshyari has been allotted a big bungalow at Cantt Road, Dehradun and residence 11A on Ashoka Road, New Delhi.
The State Government in its reply said that he doesn’t have a house of his own anywhere though as per his own affidavit he owns Hotel Uttaranchal Deep in Pithoragarh and also an ancestral house.
Similarly, ex-CM and MP Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ has his own palatial house at Vijay Colony and official residence for ex CM at R-4, Yamuna Colony apart from another official residence-bungalow number 13, Teen Murti lane, New Delhi. He jointly owns two residential ancestral bungalows in his native village Pinani and a residential bungalow owned by his wife in Upper Bazaar, Pauri.
ND Tiwari has occupied three houses- at Anant Van, FRI campus, government house at Mall Avenue, lucknow and a third at Tilak lane, New Delhi. Similarly, BC Khanduri has official residences at- Yamuna Colony, Dehradun, K Kamraj lane, New Delhi and permanent residence in Pauri district. He also owns a personal residence at Som Vihar, New Delhi.
Vijay Bahuguna owns a commercial flat and another flat apart from other residences at Friends Colony East, New Delhi (co owned by his wife), said Kaushal.
Writing to the Governor, Kaushal cited the example of Jharkhand-created at the same time as Uttarakhand-where during imposition of president’s rule all facilities given to the former Chief Ministers were withdrawn by the Governor. He said, “The fact that makes this situation more brazen is that there is no constitutional provision that states that former CMs should be accorded all the facilities that they are enjoying at the cost of the poor state’s treasury. An important point to be taken into consideration is that offices of many constitutional commissions are running in rented buildings like State Human Rights Commission among others.”
He has requested the governor to make use of the power vested in him and withdraw the facilities extended to the former chief ministers including the vehicles and staff.