HC issues Notice to Chandigarh admin on Former Chief Secretary’s plea on rent penalty

On Monday, the Chandigarh administration was issued a notice by the Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) for charging a penalty on rent from HS Dhesi, former Haryana chief secretary, for overstaying in a government accommodation in 2010.

In his plea to HC, Dhesi, who retired as chief secretary in June 2019, sought the quashing of March 2011 and October 2019 letters from the administration which said a penal rent 50 times that of the normal fee was imposed on him for overstay in a Sector-7 accommodation upon his transfer to Delhi in June 2010.

Dhesi told the court that he was being charged ₹3.23 lakh penal rent out of a total of ₹ 6.59 lakh by the administration for overstay in the accommodation. He had not been able to vacate it as his official accommodation was not ready, he pleaded.

HC was told that as the administration had not issued him a no dues certificate because of which his gratuity of ₹20lakh had not been released by the government.

HC was told that six months of Dhesi’s retention period from June 2010 had not been calculated. A government servant had reasonable expectation of being dealt with justly and fairly in receiving rights granted to him under government residence Chandigarh administration general pool allotment rules, 1996, Dhesi told the court, adding that government accommodation was a statutory benefit a government servant was entitled to.

Citing a similar case of a Haryana cadre official in December 2019, he said the administration waived the penal rent for the man who was allotted house in Sector 16 in his capacity as deputy commissioner.

The HC has sought the administration’s response by June 26.

Source Link