The Kashmir Pulse

JAMMU — After the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly in Jammu and Kashmir, 107 political leaders have either vacated or evicted from the government quarters. This information was shared by the Estates Department in response to an application filed under the Right to Information Act by senior Advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed.

The Estates Department has revealed that pursuant to the judgment, dated February 18, 2021, passed by the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in WF2 No:24/2020, necessary actions were initiated. However, it is worth mentioning that after the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly, all the ex-ministers and political leaders who were occupying government accommodations were requested to vacate the government accommodation. "Most of them vacated voluntarily and eviction proceedings were initiated in a phased manner against those who did not vacate the accommodation after the expiry of their allotment."

The Estates Department, as per the news agency KNT, has said that the department is in the process of evicting all such occupants who have not vacated or evicted. Almost 107 political leaders were evicted from Jammu government quarters.

Despite notices being served to some BJP leaders, they have not vacated the government quarters. These leaders include Kavinder Gupta (occupant of government bungalow number 4, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu) Bali Baghat (occupant of government bungalow number 2, Wazarat Road Jammu) and Sunil Kumar (occupant of government bungalow number 14, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu).

Pertinently, in Kashmir Valley, even former Jammu Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti vacated the Gupkar-based official bungalow.

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SRINAGAR — The Jammu & Kashmir Government has asked former Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti to vacate her Fairview residence on Gupkar road.

Sources told the news agency KNO that the Estates Department has served an eviction notice to Mehbooba Mufti to vacate the Fairview residence in which her family lives since 2005 when her father Mufti Muhammad Sayeed was Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir.

“The former CMs are no longer entitled to official accommodation after the Government of India amended a state law in 2020,” sources in the Jammu & Kashmir Government disclosed.

Mehbooba Mufti confirmed to KNO that she has been asked to vacate the accommodation.

Sources in the government also disclosed that an alternate accommodation has been offered to Mehbooba Mufti in lieu of Fairview residence.

The Fairview residence of Muftis was formerly an infamous torture center, known as PAPA-2. Till 1989, it served as an official guest house. The building was occupied by the Border Security Forces in 1990 who named it PAPA-2.

It continued to function as an interrogation and torture center till 1996. In 1996, Ashok Jaitley, former Chief Secretary of the State moved in and used it as his residence. In 2003 it was renovated and served as the residence of the then Finance Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig.

This post first appeared on The Kashmir Pulse