More teeth to eviction law on govt property

A number of Lok Sabha members on Monday used a discussion on a Bill to strengthen official powers for evicting unauthorised occupants of public premises to complain of being "victimised" in this regard.

Several former MPs have been evicted from their government-allotted bungalows in recent months, under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971. The Bill in question, passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday, strengthens its provisions.

Eviction notices have also been issued to MPs who no longer remain ministers. They have been asked to occupy smaller bungalows, commensurate with their new states as opposition MPs.

Monday's amendments sought to make the language tighter, include properties held by Metro Railways under the definition of public premises, make the law consistent with the amended Companies Act and give more powers to government estate officers. It also redefines public premises to cover companies in which a government, central or state, had over 51 per cent equity.

Bills were also introduced to extend the deadline to meet targets of the Delhi Master Plan, 2021, and to amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. These will be discussed later this week. These two Bills were introduced through a supplementary list of business, amid protest from the opposition. The latter has been accusing the government of flouting parliamentary convention and precedent by introducing bills through supplementary lists, without discussing these in the Business Advisory Committee meetings.

During the discussion on the Bill to evict unauthorised persons from public property, Trinamool Congress member Saugata Roy faulted the urban development minister. "In his hurry to act as a disciplinarian, he should not act against MPs. We are not beggars," Roy said, adding opposition MPs were being particularly "victimised".

The senior Trinamool MP quit as a minister in the earlier government in September 2012 but continued to stay in his ministerial bungalow. Roy said he, and another former Trinamool minister, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, recently got "extremely rude" eviction notices that insinuated they were "usurpers".

Roy said it was "very unfortunate" if strengthening the hands of the ministry would lead to "MPs being given eviction notices". He said the ministry had "slept" since the two ministers had resigned in September 2012. Roy also alleged minister Venkaiah Naidu was staying in a bungalow for 10 years to which he wasn't entitled.

Naidu said he had "no animosity or personal vendetta" but had to do "this painful duty", to create accommodation for several ministers who're still staying in hotels, at government expense. He also noted the former Comptroller and Auditor General, Vinod Rai, had filed a petition on the issue of former MPs not vacating their bungalows. Naidu said he'd occupied a larger bungalow as he was the then president of his party, the ruling party then, and later the estates office had said no other bungalow was available.

Some opposition members feared the amendments to the Act could be used to evict charitable hospitals and orphanages from the premises they were occupying.