State provision of allotment of quarters to former MPs, Ministers

New Delhi, Mar 15 (UNI) The Delhi High Court today asked the government to state provision under which the former Union Ministers and Parliamentarians were alloted government accomodation in the Lutyen's zone in the capital without ensuring recovery of dues for power supply, telephone and rent.

A division of Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice H R Malhotra directed the government counsel to file in affidavit the provision for allotment of quarters and methods of recovery of arrears from them by April 24, the next date of hearing.

The court also asked the counsel to state the amount recovered in the last one year from the defaulters.

In December 2005, the high court had directed the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to recover the dues amounting to Rs. 5.6 crores against telephone bills, electricity bills, water charges, rent, food and accomodation charges at Ashoka Group of hotels from the lawmakers.

A Public Interest Petition (PIL) was filed by the Krushak Bharti, a voluntary agency, seeking direction to the Council, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited(MTNL) and India Tourism Development Corporation(ITDC) to recover the dues from the defaulting MPs and Ministers who had been avoiding in clearing their bills for no valid reasons.

UNI