Govt housing cannot be left to the whims of authorities: Delhi HC on Kejriwal's bungalow

New Delhi: Allotment of residential accommodation cannot be based purely on whims of the authorities, the Delhi High Court on Thursday said in a plea filed by Aam Aadmi Party seeking a bungalow for its national convener and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in the capital.

Justice Sachin Datta directed the joint secretary of Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the director of Directorate of Estates to be present before it virtually in the matter on September 25.

“Is there a procedure in place? I want to see how this procedure has been applied in the past… How priority is taken into account, sequence of allotment?… Assuming there is a limited number of bungalows, how do you decide?” it asked.

The court went on, “There has to be a transparent mechanism and it cannot be purely on your whims. As long as there is a clear discernible policy… I want to know the manner of assessing priority. I am concerned with the larger issue as to how the discretion is applied in allotment of bungalows.”

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During the hearing, the Centre’s counsel informed the court that the Type VII bungalow at 35, Lodhi Estate, which the party had proposed to allot to Kejriwal, was allotted to Union Minister of State (MoS) for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary on July 24 this year.

The submission came on the court’s previous direction to inform it the specific date when the bungalow at 35 Lodhi Estate was allotted to the MoS.

The court also directed that the extant policy followed by the government for residential allotment should be brought on record in an affidavit which should also disclose allotments made in the past and how the policy was applied.

On September 16, the court had pulled up the Centre for delaying its decision in allotting the residential accommodation to Kejriwal and observed the government’s approach resembled a “free system for all” and it could not selectively decide as to who got a house.

The Centre was asked to submit by September 18 records outlining the policy governing the allotment of houses from the general pool of residential accommodation and the current waiting list.

Senior advocate Rahul Mehra, representing AAP, had said though the government counsel had previously sought time to seek instructions on the party’s proposal to allot the bungalow at 35 Lodhi Estate to Kejriwal, it was allotted to someone else.

The bungalow was vacated by BSP supremo Mayawati in May this year.

In its petition, AAP said under the guidelines for allotment of accommodation from the general pool to political parties, the president of a recognised national party was entitled to one government residence in Delhi, provided they neither own a house nor have been allotted one in any other official capacity.

“All pre-conditions are met. There is a national convenor, who is also the national president. We are requesting a centrally located residence,” its counsel had said.

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