Bills moved to skirt SC order against bungalows to ex-UP CMs

With Supreme Court directing eviction of former chief ministers from state bungalows within two months, the Uttar Pradesh government today introduced two bills to facilitate their continuation in government accommodation for life.
The Uttar Pradesh Ministers (salaries, allowances and miscellaneous provisions)(Amendment) Bill, 2016 provides for this facility to former chief ministers for life.
"A government residence shall be alloted to a former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, at his/her request, for his/her lifetime, on payment of such rent as may be determined from time to time by the Estate Department of the state government," says the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the bill.

The bill was introduced after the apex court on August 1 directed six former UP chief ministers to vacate their official bungalows in Lucknow in two months and pay the rent at market rate for the period falling under unauthorised occupation.
The bill also revises salaries and allowances in view of price rise and escalation in cost of living.
It provides that the chief minister and ministers, minister of state with independent charge and minister of state will be entitled, throughout the term of their office, a salary of Rs 40,000 per month while the deputy minister will get a salary of Rs 35,000 per month.

The government also came up with another bill - The Allotment of Houses Under Control of the Estate Department Bill, 2016, - seeking to regulate the allotment of government houses under the control of the estate department to employees and officers of the state government, employees association, political parties, journalists, officers of All India Service, MLAs, MLCs, trusts, ministers, chairman and deputy chairman of Legislative Council, speaker and deputy speaker of Legislative Assembly and Justices.

The bill facilitates allotment of residences to "minister/ former chief minister defined under the Uttar Pradesh Ministers (salaries, allowances and miscellaneous provisions) Act 1981" and makes them eligible for allotment of type 6 and 7 houses.

About the period of allotment, the bill says the allotment of houses to officers of all India services, judicial services and officers/employees of state government shall be for the period of their posting at Lucknow. In case of transfer or retirement, they shall vacate the residence within 30 days.
Allotment to other applicants, except trust, shall be for two years and the renewal shall be considered by the state government for one year at a time.
The allotment to a trust shall be made for a period of five years and the renewal for a further maximum period of five years, it says.

The apex court had passed the order after it found the 1997 rules of allotment, introduced by the state, were in contravention of the 1981 Act.
Under the original 1981 Act, chief ministers were supposed to vacate their official residences within 15 days after demitting office, while the rules framed in 1997 allowed them to retain the bungalows for life.
Any rule framed in violation of the Act was bad in law, the apex court held while quashing the 1997 rules.
The affected ex-CMs were Union Home Minister and BJP leader Rajnath Singh, Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, BSP supremo Mayawati and Congress leaders ND Tiwari and Ram Naresh Yadav. All of them have bungalows in Lucknow.

Acting on the Supreme Court order, the Estate Department has slapped eviction notices to over 600 allottees, including journalists and trusts.