2 ex-NDMC members face forceful eviction

New Delhi: Two former members of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) have been told to vacate their government allotted quarters under threat of forceful eviction by December 20. While NDMC members are required to vacate their accommodation within one month of completing their tenure, both BS Bhatti and Anita Arya had refused to do so since September 2019, when their term got over, even after repeated court orders.

BS Bhatti had said that he has health complications and is receiving treatment for the same at one of NDMC's hospitals. He had earlier said that he will vacate the house once his health is fine but has now agreed to move out and pay the dues he owes in back rent.

"Health check-up is not reasonable grounds to retain government accommodation, and he is not suffering from any major disease that we know of," said Sudhakar Kumar, President of the NDMC Workers' Union. "64 NDMC employees were recently asked to vacate their accommodation within six months (as per the rules) in the middle of this pandemic citing administrative oversight. Then why should they get special consideration?"

The NDMC Workers Union had also written to the Chairman, seeking an explanation on why both these cases were being treated unequally.

"Bhatti was supposed to have vacated his allotted quarters in Golf Link Sadan on October 02 last year. He also owes the NDMC up to Rs 35 lakh in unpaid arrears," Sudhakar said. Similarly, ex-council member Anita Arya, has also been issued an eviction notice to vacate her accommodation at Municipal Quarters in Chanakya Puri, and pay pending arrears.

Arya said that members of her family have been falling sick one after the other, and her children have exams coming up, which is why she couldn't vacate the quarter on time and the lockdown further delayed the process. She said that she will hand over the accommodation to NDMC by the 20th of December.