NPP protests seeking eviction of unauthorized occupants of Govt. Bungalows

Seeking immediate eviction of all illegal occupants of Estate Bungalows, the activists of NPP led by Mr. Harsh Dev Singh, Chairman-JKNPP & former Minister held a massive protest at Gandhi Nagar today. The protestors torched the effigy of BJP government and later held a huge demonstration alleging an unholy nexus between the unauthorized occupants and officers of the Estates Department. They raised slogans against the government as well as the Estates Department officers for conferring undue benefits upon BJP’s ex-MLAs, MLCs and even petty BJP workers.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh said that as and when the issue of unauthorized occupation of government Bungalows by the blue eyed political leaders and workers was raised, the Estates Department issued notices to the said persons only to hoodwink the public and to silence the media highlighting such a grave irregularity. And after the issuance of such notices, the Estates Department functionaries went into hibernation with no follow up action ever taken thereafter, said Singh. Even the High Court was being misled by the Estates deptt, over the issues of unauthorized occupants, claimed Mr. Singh. He divulged that the Estates Department had issued five successive notices of eviction to the said occupants with the first such notice having been issued in December 2018. Displaying the copies of eviction notices served upon the unlawful occupants, Mr. Singh said that the first of such notices was issued on 21-02-2018 merely to fulfill a formality with none of the BJP leaders or workers having been actually asked to vacate the said premises. “This was followed by another notice issued in April 2019 which also met the same fate. Third notice of eviction was issued on 07-09-2020 which also proved as a hoax and a window dressing for the gullible public. The fourth notice was issued on 17-12-2019 which was also proved an eye wash. This fifth notice of eviction was issued on 07.09.2020 with the same terms of one week time which too has met the same fate as earlier notices as no action has been taken by the Estates Department to evict the said illegal encroachers of government property. Even the High Court was being kept in dark over the messy affair prevalent in Estates Deptt.”,disclosed Mr. Singh. And while the opposition leaders were hounded out of Estates quarters through Police force, the Estates Department officers have displayed their double standards in their dealing with BJP leaders. It’s surprising to note that not only the ex-Ministers, ex-MLAs and ex-MLCs are allowed to continue the occupation of the government bungalows by Estates Department but the small time BJP workers are also retaining the said bungalows as revealed in an RTI reply received last week, without payment of even a single penny as rent or license fee, regretted Mr. Singh.

Seeking personal indulgence of Lt. Governor and Chief Secretary, Mr. Harsh Dev sought a probe into the fishy affair involving the most scandalous conduct of illegal occupants in collusion with corrupt officers of Estates Department. Further calling for immediate recovery of penal rent from all such unauthorized holders of government property in terms of the announcement made by the government in December 2018 when the first eviction notice was served, he said that NPP had already announced to hold protests outside Vigilante Organizations for their criminal silence in acting against the shoddy doings of BJP leaders.

Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion included Rajesh Padgotra, Surinder Chouhan, Rakesh Gupta, Ravender Jamwal, Rajesh Gondhi, Nirmal Kishore , Rohit Sharma, Hakim Din besides others.