NEW DELHI : The urban development ministry, which is responsible for evicting former ministers and Members of Parliament overstaying in Delhi’s exclusive Lutyens’ Bungalow Zone, has unearthed widespread illegality and ad hocism in allotment of government accommodation.It has decided to put an end to this by fixing responsibility and punishing errant ministry officers who looked the other way as former MPs and retired bureaucrats squatted in these bungalows. The ministry has found several cases where retired government officials squatted in bungalows even five years after a retirement. Former MPs and ministers also squatted for almost an entire term of the previous government.According to officials, the allotments have been so haphazard that in many cases the ministry has lost track of the pool to which some bungalows belong — Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha or general pool. This has led to such confusion that a plush bungalow in the heart of the city was allotted to a Lok Sabha MP and a Rajya Sabha member at the same time.

“In this case, a Lok Sabha member became a Rajya Sabha member and occupied the same bungalow. So Rajya Sabha house committee thought that the bungalow stands transferred to Rajya Sabha pool. And the other House committee thought the same. So the same house was allotted to two different people. There are rules for such allotments but they were openly flouted,” a senior ministry official said.

But now the ministry is setting its house in order. It is planning to put errant officers on notice. Urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu confirmed to ET that the errant officers will be proceeded against. There was massive ad hocism in allotment of government bungalows and accommodation for almost a decade, he said.“No rules were followed and allotments were made on whims. In fact, in many cases even the Cabinet committee on accommodation ratified random decisions. How do you justify allowing retired government officers and MPs to stay in the same accommodation for up to five years?” Naidu said, “We need to fix responsibility. Officers will be proceeded against so that a message goes across board.”