5 days ago
Haryana gets govt staff to vacate 34 houses, 24 others in Panchkula served notice
The Haryana government has intensified efforts to get houses allotted to its officials in Panchkula vacate in order to re-allocate them to judicial officers and employees, as per a recent direction of the high court.
A senior government officer told The Indian Express on Thursday that '34 out of the 58 identified houses have already been vacated by government staffers,' and 'notices have been issued to the occupants of the remaining 24 houses.' The officer added, 'They have been asked to vacate the houses by July 22 to ensure compliance with the high court's orders.'
On Tuesday, the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed the state government to reallocate 58 government quarters — currently occupied by employees from other departments — to judicial officers and staff within a week. 'To the extent of the Chief Secretary admitting that 58 houses are deficient in the 15 per cent pool reserved for judiciary, contempt appears to be, prima facie, made out,' the Bench had observed. The court warned that failure to comply would result in the dismissal of the Haryan Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi's appeal against contempt proceedings.
The court's direction came alongside an order for charges to be framed against Chief Secretary for non-compliance with a 2011 court ruling that mandated the reservation of 15% of general pool government quarters for judicial officers and court staff, in in line with recommendations of the Shetty Commission and the Supreme Court.
Following these directions, the Haryana Public Works Department (PWD) got 30 houses vacated in a jiffy. Sources said the department has reported the vacancy of 27 houses to the District and Sessions Judge of Panchkula.
A senior officer stated, 'We have issued vacation notices to current occupants based on the 'last come, first go' principle. The notice period is about to end. These employees live with their families and, naturally, need time to find alternative accommodation, which may be the reason for the delay in vacating the houses.'
The contempt petition was filed by Rajesh Chawla, an employee of Panchkula District court, in October 2016, alleging wilful defiance of the high court's September 7, 2011, order directing the Haryana government to implement the Shetty Commission's recommendations and earmark 15 per cent of general pool government housing for judicial employees.
Chawla had alleged that the government misrepresented facts by claiming to have allotted 38 houses from the district pool in Panchkula, whereas the directive pertained to the general pool comprising quarters in both Panchkula and Chandigarh.
Arshdeep Bhullar, counsel for Chawla in the High Court, reiterated that 'as per the order, the 58 houses must be vacated within one week.'
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