By Damini-
Last year, Uttarakhand High Court ordered the former chief ministers of the state to pay the market rent of the government accommodation for the entire period they continued to occupy it after resigning the office.
All the government orders given after the year 2001 relating to housing and other facilities to former chief ministers in the state were declared as illegal and unconstitutional by the high court of the state.
Therefore, the court directed the state to calculate all the amount due and payable towards facilities such as water, electricity, oil, petrol and lubricants that were being provided by the state to the former chief ministers. It was directed to be done within four months from the date of receipt of the copy of the order.
When this order was made last year, a plea was being filed in the high court by an NGO alleging non-compliance of the order. The former ministers that were named in the plea were Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.
After a plea was filed, the Uttarakhand High Court issued show-cause notices to three former chief ministers and the state chief secretary. The Uttarakhand HC was hearing a contempt petition for non-compliance of its order mentioning to clear the dues for facilities used by the state’s ex-CMs for years.
But the Union Minister of Education filed a plea in Supreme Court. The bench headed by Justice R F Nariman stayed the Uttarakhand High Court’s contempt proceedings against Union Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal. He didn’t pay the rent for the government bungalow in which he was residing in.
