Cabinet okays bill to evict unauthorised occupants of govt residences at earliest

In a crackdown on unauthorised occupants of government residential accommodations, the Union Cabinet Wednesday gave its go ahead to introduce The Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2019.

According to the government, the bill will be introduced in the upcoming Parliament session starting from June 17.

The amendments will facilitate smooth and speedy eviction of unauthorised occupants from government residences and those vacant residences will be available for allotment to eligible persons on maturity of their turn in the waiting list.

The go ahead to the Bill was given at a meeting of the cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In a statement, government stated the move will decrease the waiting time for availing the facility of residential accommodation.

The proposed amendments would enable the estate officer to apply summary proceedings for evicting unauthorised occupants from residential accommodations and to levy damage charges for accommodation held during the period of litigation, it stated.

The new bill comes in place of The Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2017, the statement stated.

The Centre has to evict unauthorised occupants from government accommodations under the provisions of PPE Act, 1971. However, the eviction proceedings take unusually long time, thereby reducing the availability of government accommodations to new incumbents.

"Under the proposed bill, the state officer will not have to follow elaborate proceedings like serving notice, show cause, inquiry, rather he or she can initiate summary eviction proceedings," it also stated.

The decision is yet another reflection of the government's commitment for a transparent and hassle-free governance for the citizens of the country, it added.