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Ex-UP CMs may lose bungalows in August

CM Akhilesh Yadav enabled former CMs of the state, including Rajnath Singh, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati, to retain government bungalows in that capacity.

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The Supreme Court (SC) will in August hold final hearings for a review petition in the matter of allotment of bungalows for former Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh (UP). A plea filed by an NGO alleges that certain former UP CMs have not yet vacated the bungalows that were allotted to them despite an SC verdict directing them to do the same. 

A bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and MM Shantanagoudar was hearing a PIL filed by NGO Lok Prahari that challenged the amendments made by the then Akhilesh Yadav government to the UP Ministers (Salaries, Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1981. The plea further challenged another Act that the UP government passed in 2016 — the Allotment of Houses under Control of the Estate Department Bill, 2016 — for regulation of allotment of government accommodations to trusts, journalists, political parties, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, judicial officers and government officials.

The amendments in the law enable former CMs of the state, including Rajnath Singh, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati, to retain government bungalows in that capacity. The UP government has been allowed to file its reply to the PIL in three weeks. On August 1, 2016, a three-judge bench of Justices Anil R Dave, NV Ramana and R Bhanumati had ruled that “government bungalows allotted to the respondents is held to be bad in law” and had asked them to vacate the property. The verdict went on to direct the state to recover “appropriate rent from the occupants of the said bungalows for the period during which they were in unauthorised occupation of the said bungalows”. 

The SC had held the 1997 Rules, which permitted the former CMs to occupy government bungalows for life, invalid.

Home truths 

Certain amendments in the law made in 2016 by then CM Akhilesh Yadav enabled former CMs of the state, including Rajnath Singh, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati, to retain government bungalows in that capacity.
But on August 1, 2016, a three-judge bench had ruled that “government bungalows allotted to the respondents is held to be bad in law” and had asked them to vacate the properties.

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