By The Hindu Bureau
Copyright thehindu
The Delhi High Court on Thursday observed that allotment of government residences cannot be left to the “whims” of authorities while hearing a plea by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) seeking a bungalow for its national convener and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Justice Sachin Datta directed the joint secretary of the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the director of the Directorate of Estates to appear virtually in the matter on September 25. The court criticised the Centre on Tuesday for delaying its decision on the allotment, remarking that the government’s approach resembled a “free system for all”. “Is there a procedure in place? I want to see how this procedure has been applied in the past. How are priorities fixed, and what sequence is followed? Assuming there are limited bungalows, how do you decide?” the court asked on Thursday.
‘Transparent mechanism’
It also said that there has to be a “transparent mechanism”. “It cannot be purely on your whims. As long as there is a clear and discernible policy, I would like to know the method of assessing priority. I am concerned with the larger issue of how discretion is exercised in the allotment of bungalows,” the court said.
The Centre’s counsel informed the court that the Type VII bungalow at 35, Lodhi Estate, sought by AAP for Mr. Kejriwal, had already been allotted to Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary on July 24 this year. This submission was made in response to the court’s earlier query regarding the specific date of allotment.
The court asked the Centre to submit by September 18 the policy governing allotment of residences from the general pool and the current waiting list. Senior advocate Rahul Mehra, appearing for AAP, argued that even though the Centre had earlier sought time to respond to AAP’s proposal for allotting the Lodhi Estate bungalow to Mr. Kejriwal, it was simultaneously allotted to someone else. The bungalow was vacated by Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati in May this year. In its petition, AAP contended that under guidelines for allotment of accommodation from the general pool to political parties, the president of a recognised national party is entitled to one government residence in Delhi, provided they neither own a house nor occupy one in any other official capacity.
