New Delhi: Biju Janata Dal leader Pinaki Mishra Wednesday said the law for eviction of unauthorised occupants of public premises, including former ministers and lawmakers, should have more teeth and stressed that huge rentals should be charged if the unauthorised occupation continued.
Speaking during the debate on The Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2019, Mishra said a person who continues to occupy in case his entitlement tenure ends, he should be charged at least five times the market rate of the premises.
When one pays ‘through your teeth’, then only the illegal occupant will vacate the house, he said.
Mishra said he knows people who stay in Type VII or VIII bungalows but pay only a tenth of the market rent.
The Puri lawmaker in Odisha urged the government to bring what he said ‘’a draconian law as possible’’ and an example should be set for the people.
The Bill adds a provision laying down the procedure for eviction from residential accommodation. It requires an estate officer (an officer of the central government) to issue a written notice to a person if he is in unauthorised occupation of a residential accommodation. The notice will require the person to show cause of why an eviction order should not be made against him, within three working days.
Mishra said this period of three days should be reduced to 12-24 hours.
Kalyan Banerjee of Trinamool Congress opposed the draft law for giving unbridled power to bureaucrats for eviction of unauthorised occupants from public premises. He said the bill not only confines to the members of Parliament and encompasses other categories of officials and higher ups who were given government quarters.
Janardan Singh Sigriwal of BJP also supported the Bill.
RSP member N K Premachandran said he has no hesitation if any former member should immediately vacate the government house provided to him when he was lawmaker.
Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri introduced the Bill in Lok Sabha on July 8.
The Bill amends the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971 which provides for the eviction of unauthorised occupants from public premises in certain cases.
The Bill defines ‘residential accommodation occupation’ as the occupation of public premises by a person on the grant of a license for such occupation. The license must be given for a fixed tenure, or for the period the person holds office.
The Bill says if the person in unauthorised occupation of the residential accommodation challenges the eviction order passed by the estate officer in court, he will be required to pay damages for every month of such occupation.
(UNI)
