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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday expressed unhappiness at 465 VVIPs, including Bihar Governor Buta Singh, occupying Government bungalows in the capital even after the expiry of the allotment period.

Displeasure expressed

Expressing its displeasure, a Bench of Justice B.N. Agarwal and Justice A.K. Mathur, observed: "How can they occupy the houses after expiry of allotment period? The ordinary law [Public Premises Eviction Act] has become an utter failure. Persons who laid down the laws are violating them by overstaying in the Government bungalows."

When the Bench, hearing a public interest petition, found the name of Mr. Buta Singh at the top of the list, it asked, "Buta Singh... What is he doing here. Throw him out. A Governor can't have a house here."

The Bench told Additional Solicitor-General Gopal Subramanian that specific guidelines needed to be framed in this regard.

The list includes Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, CPI(M) leader Harkishen Singh Surjeet, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Rajnath Singh, former Bharatiya Janata Party Minister Jaswant Singh, Satya Narayan Jatiya, Ashwini Kumar, Chief Editor of Punjab Kesari Vinod Dhall, Rajmata Gayatri Devi, Birju Maharaj, Jayarama Rao, Jatin Das, Raja and Radha Reddy, Sumer Kaul, Sharad Dwivedi, Upendra Vajpeyi, Virendra Prabhakar, Nitya Chakravorthy, R.C. Pandit and Vijay Sanghvi.

In response to the notice issued by the court to the Centre and all the States on the petition, the Union of India filed an affidavit explaining the present position and the steps taken by the authorities for eviction.

Mr. Subramanian submitted that out of the 465 cases of unauthorised occupation, 117 were outside Delhi and 348 in Delhi; 88 VVIPs had filed cases which were now pending before various courts; 36 were holding the bungalows above their entitlement; cases of 31 who had sought retention of the bungalows had been referred to the Cabinet Committee on accommodation and in all other cases eviction proceedings had been initiated and orders passed.

The affidavit said that due to the shortage of Government bungalows, 28 Ministers were staying in accommodations below their entitlement; out of 170 Secretaries and equivalent officers, only six were in the entitled accommodation.

The Bench adjourned the matter to November 16.

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