Bill in LS to make eviction from govt homes smooth, time-bound

A bill which makes eviction of overstaying Members of Parliament, dignitaries and bureaucrats from their official premises "smooth, speedy and time-bound", was introduced in the Lok Sabha today.
Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh introduced the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2017, as the existing provisions allow the unauthorised occupants to stay for years in some cases by resorting to various methods.
The bill provides powers to estate officials to start summary eviction of people from the residences, which is given to them on license basis, within three days of their overstay.
It says the estate officer does not have to follow the elaborate procedures prescribed under the existing law, before passing the eviction order.

In order to discourage such occupants to challenge the eviction order before an appellate officer of the High Court and get a stay, the legislation says they will have to pay damages for every month they hold the accommodation.
"These amendments would facilitate smooth and speedy eviction of unauthorised occupants from residential accommodations and ensure retrieval of the residential accommodation from the unauthorised occupants without requiring elaborate procedures...," it says.

Under the existing Act, eviction proceedings take much longer period than the timeline prescribed in the existing Act and, sometimes, it takes years.
Currently, it takes around a month to issue the vacation orders after issuing notices and hearing out the occupants.

Once the vacation order is issued, another up to 30 days are given to the occupants to leave the premises. In between, the occupants move the courts, especially the lower courts, to get a stay order.