NAINITAL: The Uttarakhand high court on Friday declared all orders passed by the state government from 2001 till date providing free housing and other facilities for life to former chief ministers “illegal and unconstitutional.” The HC also asked the ex-CMs to pay their pending house rent dues totalling Rs 2.8 crore, calculated at to market rates, and within six months.
Besides, the former CMs will also have to clear miscellaneous expenses worth Rs 13 crore in terms of water, electricity and phone bills as well as expenses on travel, fuel and salary of staff members.
According to data cited by the petitioner, Doon-based NGO, Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra, the pending rent of five ex-CMs has been calculated by the state government and submitted in the court as an affidavit. Former CM N D Tiwari owes the state government Rs 1.12 crore followed by B S Koshyari who has to pay Rs 47.57 lakh as rent. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has pending rent dues of Rs 40.95 lakh, while Vijay Bahuguna has to pay Rs 37.50 lakh.
According to data cited by the petitioner which was procured through RTI, Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s miscellaneous dues are over Rs 3 crore followed by B C Khanduri (Rs 2.8 crore), N D Tiwari (Rs 2.3 crore), Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (Rs 2.1 crore) and Vijay Bahuguna (Rs 1.1 crore). Former chief minister Nityanand Swami also owes the state Rs 1.5 lakh.
The matter was heard in the division bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice Ramesh Chandra Khulbe. The bench had concluded hearings of the matter on February 26, but reserved its judgment which was delivered on Friday.
Taking note of this pending amount, the HC further directed the state government to again calculate the amount within four months and to intimate it to the ex-CMs, who “within six months from the date of such intimation, will have to pay the final amount to the state government.”
Kartikey Hari Gupta, counsel for the petitioner, told TOI that “the honourable court recorded with grave concern that ex-chief ministers of the state allotted themselves bungalows and other facilities for whole life.” “The court especially mentioned about ex-CM Vijay Bahuguna who allocated bungalow, car and other facilities as a post-retirement benefit to himself, when he held office of the chief minister, as showing the state executive in poor light. That such acts have been permitted to prevail, and have gone unchecked, is undoubtedly a matter of grave concern,” Gupta said.