Houses to riot-hit: Clear stand on profit, HC tells Punjab

Tuesday, 25/09/2012

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120925/punjab.htm#15

Chandigarh : The Punjab and Haryana High Court has set a three-month deadline for Punjab Principal Secretary, Department of Home Affairs and Justice, to decide whether the price determined by GMADA for allocation of MIG/LIG flats to the 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims has in it an element of profit.

The directions by the Division Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Vijender Singh Malik came on a petition filed by Kuljit Singh and other riot victims against the State of Punjab and other respondents.

MIG/LIG (medium income group/low income group) flats were allotted to the petitioners by GMADA (Greater Mohali Area Development Authority) in Mohali pursuant to the High Court directions on September 14, 2010. In their petition filed through counsel Mansur Ali, the petitioners contended they were being asked to deposit allotment price at the rate of Rs 34,48,000 for MIG and Rs 15,48,000 for LIG flats.

The same flats were allotted to the riot victims previously in Mohali and in Ludhiana at very low rates, they contended, adding “the price determined by GMADA includes element of profit in total contravention of the Government policies”.

Disposing of the petition, the Bench contended: “Considering the nature of relief sought in this writ petition and keeping in view the categorical plea taken by the petitioners that the allotment prices sought to be charged by GMADA were in violation of the Government policies, we deem it appropriate to dispose of this writ petition with a direction to the Principal Secretary, Department of Home Affairs and Justice, Punjab, to treat this writ petition as a representation on behalf of the petitioners against determination of prices of MIG/LIG flats allegedly in violation of the Government policies”.

The Bench also asked the Principal Secretary to dispose of the representation by passing a speaking order, “as early as possible, but not later than three months from the date of receiving the order’s certified copy”.

The High Court has already passed similar orders on a petition alleging element of profit in the allocation of booths to the 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims. The Principal Secretary, in that case, was also asked decide whether allotments were required to be made at the rates prevailing in 1993-94, when some of them were “discriminately left out”.