MUMBAI: IAS officer Santosh Kumar, who was principal secretary in governor Ramesh Bais’s secretariat, has been issued an eviction notice. He has been asked to vacate Jal Darshan bungalow in Raj Bhavan immediately and pay a penal rent of Rs 20.5 lakh for overstaying there from Nov 2023.
The notice was issued last month by Vikas Kulkarni, comptroller of governor’s household.
Kumar, who was relieved from Raj Bhavan a week after Bais took over the gubernatorial assignment, said he would vacate the bungalow in eight to ten days.
An IAS officer of the 1994 batch, Kumar was moved out on Aug 30. The governor’s secretary usually gets a plum assignment after his Raj Bhavan tenure is over. In Dec 2023, Kumar was made principal secretary and OSD (appeals) in revenue & forest department at Mantralaya.
The notice issued to Kumar said: “You were allotted government residence at Jal Darshan in Raj Bhavan when you were on the post of principal secretary to the governor… but this bungalow has not been vacated after a permissible period of 3 months after leaving office. As per rule 11(f) of the Raj Bhavan (Allotment of Residence Rules), 2010 it is mandatory to vacate the residence after the permissible period of 3 months. You were informed to vacate the said residence within 7 days from 01.02.2024. As per your letter dated 02.02.2024, you have taken charge of the post of principal secretary and OSD (appeals), revenue and forest department on 1.1.2024 and as you have not yet been allotted a new residence by the government it was requested to allow extension of time to reside in the present residence till you are allotted a new residence. This extension was given till Feb 22, 2024.”
RTI activist Anil Galgali said there were several instances where IAS officers did not vacate govt residences within the time limit and do not pay the rent too.
“In the past, several ministers, civil servants have not paid fines and the chief minister has abused his position and waived their fines. This has led to increased violation of all norms. There must be a no-tolerance policy on this and all the penal rent must be recovered. Not a single rupee should be waived,” he said.
The notice was issued last month by Vikas Kulkarni, comptroller of governor’s household.
Kumar, who was relieved from Raj Bhavan a week after Bais took over the gubernatorial assignment, said he would vacate the bungalow in eight to ten days.
An IAS officer of the 1994 batch, Kumar was moved out on Aug 30. The governor’s secretary usually gets a plum assignment after his Raj Bhavan tenure is over. In Dec 2023, Kumar was made principal secretary and OSD (appeals) in revenue & forest department at Mantralaya.
The notice issued to Kumar said: “You were allotted government residence at Jal Darshan in Raj Bhavan when you were on the post of principal secretary to the governor… but this bungalow has not been vacated after a permissible period of 3 months after leaving office. As per rule 11(f) of the Raj Bhavan (Allotment of Residence Rules), 2010 it is mandatory to vacate the residence after the permissible period of 3 months. You were informed to vacate the said residence within 7 days from 01.02.2024. As per your letter dated 02.02.2024, you have taken charge of the post of principal secretary and OSD (appeals), revenue and forest department on 1.1.2024 and as you have not yet been allotted a new residence by the government it was requested to allow extension of time to reside in the present residence till you are allotted a new residence. This extension was given till Feb 22, 2024.”
RTI activist Anil Galgali said there were several instances where IAS officers did not vacate govt residences within the time limit and do not pay the rent too.
“In the past, several ministers, civil servants have not paid fines and the chief minister has abused his position and waived their fines. This has led to increased violation of all norms. There must be a no-tolerance policy on this and all the penal rent must be recovered. Not a single rupee should be waived,” he said.