Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, Apr 16: The Director Estates today informed High Court that 46 politicians and bureaucrats are illegally occupying the Government accommodation including Bungalows across the State.
Those who are illegally occupying Government quarters and Bungalows are Ex-Ministers and Ex-legislatures and some officials.
According to the list submitted by the Director Estates before the court, 46 persons are holding the Estates accommodation unauthorizedly and these illegal occupants are Ex-Cabinet Ministers, Ex- MLAs, Ex-MLCs and other high officials.
The illegal occupants include Sakina Itoo, G A Mir, Nasir Aslam Wani, Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, Syed Bashir Ahmad, Javed Ahmad Dar, Rafi Ahmad Mir, Mohammad Shafi Bhat, Khalid Najeeb Soharwardi, Mir Saifullah, Nizam-ud-Din Bhat, Chowdhary Ramzan, Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Sofi, Abdul Hamid Bhat, Sonaullah Dar, Rafiq Ahmad Dar, Arvinder Singh Micky, Haji Ali Mohammad Bhat, Abdul Majeed Wani, Aga Syed Rizvi and Ghulam Hassan Khan.
Director also provided the list of sitting MLAs to whom public premises were provided as Ministers in previous Government and are possession of these accommodations. They are Mohammad Akbar Lone, Devender Singh Rana, Ali Mohammad Sagar, Mubarak Gul, Shameema Firdous, Vikar Rasool Wani and Hakeem Mohammd Yaseen.
The Advocate General of the State today furnished an order of Government before Justice Hasnain Masoodi that petitioner former Minister Chowdhary Ramzan has been provided another accommodation apart from Quarter T-15 at TulsiBagh but counsel representing Ramzan advocate Javed Iqbal vehemently denied this and stated before the court: “I will withdraw my petition if AG will prove this”. He requested the court to ask the Commissioner Secretary to swear an affidavit before the court in this regard if it is true.
Advocate Javed Iqbal further stated before the court that Government has not given its statement to the court regarding the policy framed by the Government to provide alternate accommodation to protected persons.
Raising strong objection on the reservation of allotment of different categories as given by Director in its compliance report, Advocate Iqbal submitted before the court that only 5% quota of accommodations has been reserved as discretionary for Ex-legislatures besides other officials which needs to be deliberated upon and court may have to interfere in this connection.
“That as per above said order against the 5% discretionary quota the request of the petitioner as well as other such persons as far as possible can be considered subject to availability of accommodation in the said quota”, says the Director in his report.
The Director in his report has also said that Government failed to get the stay orders, obtained by some Ex-Ministers with regard to holding of Government Quarters and Bungalows, vacated and this has led to acute shortage of accommodation for sitting Ministers and MLAs.
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