File photo of Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu
With elections approaching in Haryana, the issue of converting former minister Ajit Singh's Lutyen's zone bungalow at Delhi's Tuglak Road into a memorial for his father, former Prime Minister Chaudhury Charan Singh, has been tied to Jat pride and Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has written to Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu, seconding the demand for a memorial.
In his reply to Mr Hooda, Mr Naidu pointed out that in 2000, the Union cabinet had "banned such conversions and this has been issued as a policy guideline". Further, in July 2013, the Supreme Court had also asked the Centre not to convert bungalows into memorials, he wrote.
Following is the full text of Mr Naidu's letter to Mr Hooda:Namasthe,
Please refer to your D.O. letter No. CMH-2014/483-D/14 dated 17th September, 2014 regarding Bunglow No.12, Tughlak Road, New Delhi.
2. I have been taken by surprise by the choice of your words regarding the action taken in respect of vacation of Bungalow No.12, Tughlak Road, New Delhi. It appears that you have been totally misled in the matter further to which you said that ex-parte eviction order was issued by the government and electricity supply was disconnected causing unwarranted hardship to Shri Ajit Singh. Facts are to the contrary.
3. Media has been regularly reporting in the matter of vacation of official accommodation by former Ministers and Lok Sabha Members who are not members of 16th Lok Sabha. As the Bungalow under reference belongs to the General Pool and Shri Ajit Singh is no longer a Union Minister nor a Member of Parliament, the Directorate of Estates vide letter No.1/309/2014-TS dated 30/05/2014 cancelled the allotment and requested Shri Singh, after allowing one month's concessional period as admissible under rules, to vacate the bunglow on or before 27.06.2014.
4. Again, only about a month later i.e., on 24/07/2014, his case was referred to for eviction. Subsequently, as per the provisions of Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971, a Show Cause Notice was issued to him giving him an opportunity to present his case on 5.8.2014 before the concerned quasi-judicial authority under the said Act. Shri Ajit Singh was represented by one Shri S.P. Singh and after hearing him only the concerned authority issued eviction order. As a natural corollary to such proceedings, supply of electricity/water was disconnected by the local body. It was only on 14th September, 2014 and that too after 80 days of unauthorized stay by Shri AJit Singh, power supply was disconnected. It is clear that Shri Ajit Singh has been given ample opportunities and time to vacate the said bungalow. I, therefore, beg to differ with you that this was neither an unceremonious nor a discourteous act as due procedure and time limits have been observed. Also, you may be aware that a PIL has been admitted before the Hon'ble Supreme Court against such unauthorized stay and the Court has taken a serious view of the same. In an earlier case, the Hon'ble Court observed that, if required, reasonable force could be resorted to in the matter of evicting unauthorized occupants of government accommodation.
5. As you would also appreciate, for want of accommodation, many Union Ministers are still residing in hotel rooms and guest houses which is causing inconvenience and hardships in discharge of their duties effectively. It is grossly unfair to deprive them of their rightful accommodation. I may add that all this while, the Union Minister who has been allotted Bungalow No.12, Tughlak Road has been staying in a guest house causing much hardship to him and his family members besides adversely impacting his official work.
6. I may add that I have had the occasions to speak personally to Shri Ajit Singh and explain to him the problems being faced in allotting official accommodation to the new ministers and requested him to do the needful.
7. In the backdrop of such persuasion and due compliance with stipulated procedures, I am not able to appreciate your comment that ex-parte eviction order was issued in respect of the Bugalow No.12, Tughlak Road, New Delhi. I am afraid you did not check the facts before writing to me. I am sure you would now appreciate the restraint shown by the government in the matter.
8. Regarding declaration of the said bungalow as Ch. Charan Singh Memorial, I am afraid you are unaware of the policy in the matter. The Union Cabinet in the year 2000 had banned such conversions and this has been issued as a policy guideline vide OM No.12035/8/94-Pol.II dated 02.11.2000. Further to this, Hon'ble Supreme Court in its judgment dated 5th July, 2013 in Civil Appeal No. 4064 of 2004 S.D Bandi Vs. Divisional Traffic Officer, KSRTC & Ors had suggested not to allow any general pool residential accommodation to be converted into memorials.
9. Regarding your suggestion of converting the said Bungalow as Ch. Charan Singh Memorial, you could have suggested the same during the period the UPA was in power from 2004 to 2014.
10. I would have appreciated you if only you had verified the facts in the matter of vacation of the said bungalow and its conversion into a memoral. I hope you would at least appreciate the facts in this regard now.
With regards,
Yours sincerely,
(M. Venkaiah Naidu)