Wg Cdr Mahesh Chander Sudan (Retd)
We, the people of JKUT, have been helplessly witnessing unauthorized occupancy of Government accommodations by former Chief Ministers, Dy Chief Ministers, Ministers, Legislators and President of a main stream political party totaling it to 53 occupants who have willfully exploited public premises for personal benefits. It is also painful to bear the helplessness of the public authority who miserably failed to implement rules and regulations framed to govern management of Government accommodation. These public premises are raised at the cost of public funds that get generated through collection of tax payer’s money either through direct or indirect taxes. The issue becomes more serious when the public authority appointed by the system chooses to compromise with non-adherence of specific rules and regulations meant to deal with willful defaulters either for short term personal gains or becomes victim of political influence exerted by powerful persons. In both the cases, it amounts to undermining the authority vested in him while occupying the concerned position. However, the system must be led by the spirit of rules and regulations so that the public authority is not compromised at any stage and the responsibility must run till the highest hierarchical position.
Ideally, these accommodations are meant to be allotted to public servants so that they are comfortable in discharging their duty while occupying public offices. At the same time, they cease to be authorized occupants as and when their tenure expires subject to rules and regulations framed for management of public assets by the competent authority as appointed through administrative sanctions. Allotment of residential houses and VIP bungalows is regulated in terms of Jammu and Kashmir Estate department regulation 2004, as sanctioned vide Cabinet decision No. 26/2 dated 25 Jan 2004 and conveyed through Government order No. 169-GAD of 2004 as amended from time to time. These public accommodations have been categorized /classified into seven categories and VIP bungalows falling in category I are allotted to CM, Dy CMs, Chief Justice of High Court and other Judges, Chairman Legislative Councils and other equivalent level officers of the UT Government. A detailed procedure has been laid out in these regulations for efficient administration of these public premises including bona fide allotments and evictions of unauthorized occupants as the situation so demands and a careless implementation of these regulations allows criminal exploitation of public resources by willful defaulters.
An exhaustive procedure as highlighted above has proved inadequate to check unauthorized occupancy of these public premises owing to willful neglect by these leaders who were mandated to represent people of Jammu and Kashmir to form popular government for efficient governance of public resources for larger welfare of the state.
The list of defaulters published repeatedly in local media indicates dereliction of duty on the part of JKUT Estate Department officials who failed to achieve eviction of unauthorized occupants at the earliest and equally it lacks morality on the part of these leaders who were entrusted with solemn public trust through democratic process by the poor people of Jammu and Kashmir. It not only lowers the public image of these leaders but also damages the trust of poor voters who did cast their precious mandate in their favour to achieve self-governance of public resources as established in the highest law of the land.
It may sound an ordinary issue of public premises to these defaulters but it ultimately weakens the system so established for managing public property in accordance with rules and regulations. In addition, all these unauthorized occupants are primarily former legislators who had onerous responsibility of making laws for governing then state and present day Union territory of JK. It is also a fact that these privileged and elected representatives of the people not only remained a part of governance but enjoyed close association with the seat of power and are therefore sure of immunity from all these rules and regulations, no matter whether it is popular Government or an alternate constitutional arrangement of LG and his team. It is expected that the present day LG administration will honor the spirit of rules and regulations and put up an update of the case in public domain and discharge solemn duty of a custodian and an administrator of the public property. Equality before law must be honored and ensured, beyond an iota of doubt, by the constitutional head of the Union Territory whether he is elected or appointed.
The poor people of Jammu and Kashmir expect that Rule of Law would prevail in all spheres of life and no exception of this kind should be allowed to these high profile unauthorized occupants of Government accommodation (public premises), as highlighted by local media on 07 Apr 2023, to uphold justice and equity and plead for a white paper on present position of the case with details of outstanding dues on account of MARKET RENT and water and electricity charges for the entire unauthorized period of stay individually besides declaring it to be an essential criteria for participating in future elections so that innocent voters are well informed to exercise their mandate without being compromised .
Jai Hind, Jai Bharat.
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