3 years on, Nagaur MP Beniwal yet to get an official house
It’s not that Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal has been ignored by the committees that allot residences to members of Parliament, but the search for a house for him is stuck in a legal battle and one former parliamentarian’s refusal to vacate his home.
Nagaur lawmaker Hanuman Beniwal, president of the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party and a former ally of the ruling NDA government, has been living in Rajasthan Bhawan for the past three years. It’s not that Beniwal has been ignored by the committees that allot residences to members of Parliament, but the search for a house for him is stuck in a legal battle and one former parliamentarian’s refusal to vacate his home.
“It is the only case which is left unresolved,’’ said Navsari MP and chairman of the Lok Sabha House Committee, CR Patil. “It is because there is a court case on for vacating the former MP’s house. Once that is resolved, we will soon allot his home.”
Patil’s reference is to a legal fight that has been on since 2017 over bungalow 7, Tughlaq Road. The house is currently occupied by former Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav. The Directorate of Estates under the ministry of housing and urban affairs allotted Yadav’s bungalow to Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras as the former was no longer a Rajya Sabha member. Paras’ home on Rajendra Prasad Road was to go to Beniwal . However, since Paras hasn’t been able to shift, neither has Beniwal.
Yadav, who was disqualified from the Rajya Sabha in December 2017, was allowed to retain the bungalow by the Supreme Court in 2018, which restrained him from drawing salary and allowances as Rajya Sabha MP till Delhi High Court decided on the legality of his disqualification from the Upper House. “The matter is sub-judice and is likely to come up for hearing in the Delhi High Court soon,” said a senior official at the Lok Sabha secretariat.
HT spoke to senior advocate S Guru Krishna Kumar who appeared for Yadav in the Supreme Court , but he said he was not aware of the current status of the case. Yadav was not available for comment.
The committee too is waiting for a final order. Yadav was disqualified from Rajya Sabha after a fallout with Nitish Kumar.
Housing for MPs is a sensitive issue which can be gauged from the fact that there are numerous bodies which handle different issues. Other than Patil’s panel, there is one handled by Rajya Sabha secretariat and the directorate of estate under the ministry. Patil says there is no shortage and they are building a brand new enclave in Baba Kharak Singh Marg but what there is, is shortage of suitable homes to fit the status of MPs
Beniwal, a first time MP from Nagaur is collateral damage. “I’m a three-time MLA and president of my party. I should have been allotted a house long back. But for the past three years, I have been living in a place where I can’t even see my constituents properly,” he said.
What’s complicating matters further is that Paras is also in no hurry to move. His office told HT that they informed the government that he was happy to stay in his old quarters.
“There were many people who were overstaying in MP quarters,’’ said Patil, ``We got them all to leave. There are many who just don’t want to leave because they had stayed for many terms as lawmakers. This will get resolved soon too.” While Beniwal is the only MP remaining to be housed, Patil does face a constant barrage of requests for better housing. “Everyone wants a bungalow and that’s not possible. Even I stay in a flat. So whenever people come to me to ask for a house, I tell them to look at a very clearly defined criteria I have drawn up. If they qualify, they can have it,” he said.
Beniwal has no such demands. He is just waiting for word to get a house of his own.
