As many as 468 government flats and bungalows in Delhi are in illegal possession or are being misused, the government told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Among the residents are government employees and over 20 journalists.

Over 200 of these illegally occupied dwellings are Type-II flats comprising a bedroom and a living room, which are typically allotted to peons and clerks in the government. These flats are mainly in the neighbourhoods of Kasturba Nagar, M B Road, Srinivaspuri, Minto Road, Kalibari, Kidwai Nagar, Lodhi Road, Timarpur, R K Puram and Andrews Ganj.

Most of these allotments have been cancelled, and the occupants have been living illegally for between one and four years, the government said in reply to an unstarred question by Kandhamal MP Rudra Madhab Ray of the Biju Janata Dal. The bigger flats and bungalows are in Pandara Road, R K Puram, Shahjahan Road and New Moti Bagh, etc, and include Type-IV, V and VI accommodation.

Some of these are occupied by journalists. An occupant of a flat in Rabindra Nagar has been living illegally since 2001. The Ministry of Urban Development has been complaining of a major shortage of government housing in the city. The worst crunch is of Types-I, II and III accommodation, an official said.

The government also told the House that the largest number of complaints of subletting of general pool residential accommodation have been received from Delhi.

A total 820 such complaints were received in Delhi in 2013, as compared to 133 in Mumbai and nine in Chennai. There were fewer complaints in Delhi in 2013 than in 2012, when 1,565 complaints were received; in Mumbai, the number of complaints went up in 2013 from 82 in the previous year. In all cases, allotments have been cancelled and occupants debarred from future allotments. “In Delhi such action was taken in 97 cases, in Mumbai it was 60 while in Chennai it was nine in 2013,” says the government’s response.

“Penalties imposed on allottee have been made more stringent. In addition to the penalties imposed under the allotment rules, the concerned ministry of the delinquent allottee also initiated disciplinary action against them,” the government said.

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