SQUATTER BABU RELENTS

The sense of some people’s entitlement can be amazing, especially if they are senior babus. It has taken more than two years for the Maharashtra government to evict a 1997- batch IAS officer who was occupying a south Mumbai bungalow marked for a new government building. Additional municipal commissioner Vijay Singhal has agreed to vacate the bungalow after he was given a house in Neelambari building near Mantralaya.

According to sources, the babu has been occupying the state excise department bungalow for more than two years after he was transferred from the excise commissioner’s post in 2016. He held on to the Azad Maidan bungalow despite the state government’s rule that official accommodation can only be retained for a maximum of three months after the end of tenure.

Matters reached such a pass that the government labelled Mr Singhal a “squatter” and considered initiating eviction proceedings against him. Despite several notices, Mr Singhal did not relent until now, after the government allotted a house to him in another building.