Law to facilitate eviction of unauthorised occupants from govt accommodations comes into effect

The Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2019, which was passed by the Parliament to facilitate smooth and speedy eviction of unauthorised occupants from government residential accommodations, came into effect from Monday.

The Gazette notification in this regard has also been issued.

"This would facilitate smooth and speedy eviction of unauthorised occupants from government residential accommodations and ensure retrieval of these residential accommodations from unauthorised occupants without requiring elaborate procedures," said an official statement.

This is expected to further increase the availability of government residential accommodations for eligible persons and reduce the waiting period.

"As per the Amendment Act, the estate officer will issue short show-cause notice of three days before the eviction of the unauthorized occupant from the government accommodation," the statement said.

The Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971 was enacted to provide for eviction of unauthorised occupants from "public premises" and for certain incidental matters.

"As per the existing allotment rules, after the end of eligibility as per the terms and conditions of the licence, the occupants of such residential accommodations become unauthorised occupants and are to vacate the same," it said.

The Act confers powers upon the estate officers to evict such unauthorised occupants from "public premises" in a smooth, speedy and time-bound manner. Under the existing provisions, the eviction proceedings of unauthorised occupants from "public premises" take around five to seven weeks' time.

"It may take around four more weeks in case the unauthorised occupants file an appeal before the District Court under the act. However, eviction proceedings take a much longer period than the timeline prescribed in the act. Sometimes, it takes years to evict the unauthorised occupants, especially, if the unauthorised occupant approaches higher courts," it added.

The government provides residential accommodation on a licence basis to its employees, Members of Parliament and other dignitaries while they are in service or till the term of their office.