BHATTAL RENTAL WRITEOFF PUTS CAPT GOVT IN A FIX
A day after the Punjab cabinet decided to pay back ₹84 lakh to former CM Rajinder Kaur Bhattal for overstaying in a government house allotted to her former SAD-BJP CPSes have also demanded the same relief.
CHANDIGARH: A day after the Punjab cabinet decided to pay back ₹84 lakh to former chief minister Rajinder K au rBh at talfor-overstaying ina government residence allotted to her as a leader of opposition, former chief parliamentary secretaries (CPSes) in the previous SAD-BJP government have also demanded the same relief from the cashstrapped government.
Many among the 18 CPSes whose appointments were termed unconstitutional by the Punjab and Haryana high court in August 2017, have to pay penal rent between ₹7 lakh and ₹18 lakh for overstaying in the government accommodations. They claimed that the penal rent was charged from them when they went to get a no-objection certificate from the Vidhan Sabha.
“We were not served any notice to vacate the houses when the court scrapped the appointments. After two months, I went to hand over the keys of my offi- cial residence to the estate department of V id han S ab ha and even then I was not told about the pen al rent. I was surprised when I went to get my no-objection certificate and was charged ₹14 lakh,” said SAD MLA Pawan Tinu, who was CPS in the SADBJP regime. Similarly, former SAD MLA Mohinder Kaur Josh had to pay ₹10 lakh. When she paid the penal rent, she wrote to the estate department: “You are charging an illegal penal rent as neither you gave us notice to vacate the house nor sent any letter about charging pen al rent .”
Others include Virsa Singh Valtoha, Balbir Ghunnas, Mantar Singh Brar, Parkash Chand Gar gan dA mar pal Singh Bonny. The total is more than ₹1 crore.
“In Mad am B hat ta l’ s case, the plea the cabinet took was that she was an MLA overstayed in the house allotted to her as the leader of opposition. We also remained MLAs after we were removed as CPSes. Why this disparity?” asked Tinu. The former CPSs have called a meeting in Jalandhar next Sunday.