2 years on, minister continues to run camp office from MC house
ACTION SOUGHT in a letter to chief minister Khattar, former Congress MLA Bharat Bhushan Batra has demanded action against minister of state for cooperation Manish Grover for occupying a residential building of Rohtak civic body
ROHTAK: Haryana minister of state for cooperation Manish Grover has been running his camp office from a residential house belonging to the Rohtak municipal corporation (MC) for the past two years now.
Former Rohtak MLA Bharat Bhushan Batra of the Congress on Saturday demanded action against Grover by writing a letter to chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
HT had first published a report about Grover running his office from a governmentowned building in Rohtak in 2016.
Reacting to the news item, Congress MLAS had then created ruckus during the assembly session demanding action against Grover.
The minister had then vacated the government building, but soon occupied a residential house belonging to the municipal corporation (MC) to run his office.
Since then, he has been occupying the residential house. “It is totally illegal. This government that preaches honesty and vows to end corruption has not bothered to check on its own minister who has been wrongly using his position for personal benefit.
When Congress comes to power, it will recover a fine of 50 times the rent of this house from Grover’s pension,” Batra said while addressing a press conference in Rohtak on Saturday.
The Congress leader also blamed former Rohtak deputy commissioner (DC) for working hand in glove with Grover in letting him occupy government properties for personal use.
Despite HT’S repeated phone calls and text messages, Grover could not be contacted.
However, the Rohtak municipal corporation maintained that the minister’s occupation of the MC house was legal.
“The minister has been allotted the camp office for public interest after his request that cited his requirement for an office to hear grievances of the common public. Two out of three quarters for municipal corporation (sic) in Rohtak were vacant at that time and one of them was allotted to the minister,” the MC said in a statement on Saturday.
However, HT had reported earlier that the quarter given to Grover was occupied by an executive officer of the MC at that time and he was asked to move out of the house so that Grover could set up his office.
In response to an RTI plea filed by lawyer Poonam Rani, the MC maintained the occupation of the house bu the minister was legal, but chose not to answer questions regarding any precedent of a cabinet minister or minister of state running his camp office on government expenditure.
It is totally illegal. The government preaches honesty and vows to end corruption. But it has not bothered to check on its minister using his position for personal benefit. BHARAT BHUSHAN BATRA, former Rohtak MLA