The Indian Express explains what exactly happened:Was the government house in question ever allotted to MP Bittu?
(Express Photo) Ravneet Singh Bittu stays at the BJP office after he vacated the govt house.
However, Sawhney says: “There’s no record of any allotment of this property with us.”The house of Ravneet Singh Bittu that remains shut.
(Express photo by Gurmeet Singh)So, what did MC do, even as Bittu lived in the house but no rent was paid for eight years?
Bittu says that he paid monthly water and electricity bills but never received any notice regarding pending house rent and other arrears.
Hours before he was to file his nomination papers from Ludhiana for the Lok Sabha polls, BJP candidate Ravneet Singh Bittu was served with a notice by Ludhiana Municipal Corporation asking him pay up Rs 1.82 crore in rent, pending against the government accommodation that he had been occupying in the district since 2016. The notice, served Thursday midnight via WhatsApp, made it clear that he must pay the amount to get the mandatory No Dues Certificate (NDC) issued for filing nomination.
The civic body, in its latest notice to Bittu, also said that the house was never allotted to him and that he should vacate it. This led to a row with Bittu claiming that he had been paying monthly electricity and water bills of the house but never got any notice regarding pending rent. More so, the civic body had issued an NDC certificate when Bittu contested 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Bittu, who spent the night at BJP’s election office, accused the ruling Aam Aadmi Party of trying to stop him from filing nomination, and claimed he had to pledge his ancestral land to arrange the amount within hours.
The Indian Express explains what exactly happened:
Was the government house in question ever allotted to MP Bittu?
No, according to the records available with the deputy commissioner’s office and Ludhiana Municipal Corporation, the house in question (kothi number 6, Officers Colony, Rose Garden) was never allotted to Bittu.
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In a letter dated October 28, 2015 (copy with The Indian Express), then Ludhiana deputy commissioner wrote to Punjab government’s department of general administration that a request has been received from Bittu for the allotment of a government residence on the basis that “he was Z+ protectee, is a local MP who needs to spend time in his constituency and does not own any house in Ludhiana”. The DC’s letter also mentioned that MC commissioner had informed that a government house which was kept aside for usage at the disposal of DC office under general pool, was lying vacant. The letter recommended the allotment of that house to Bittu.
However, the recommendation was rejected. In a reply dated November 10, 2015, (copy with The Indian Express), the general administration department wrote to the DC: “There is no provision of allotting a house to MPs as per the Punjab Government Houses (General Pool) Allotment Rules, 1983”.
So, what happened after the DC’s recommendation was rejected? When did Bittu still move into the house?
On November 23, 2015, then Ludhiana DC shot another letter to the department of general administration (copy with The Indian Express), again recommending that a government house be allotted to Bittu keeping in view the “security reasons as he was a Z+ protectee and local MP who does not have own house in the city.”
But according to the records, no reply was received on the second recommendation. The current Ludhiana DC, Sakshi Sawhney, told The Indian Express: “The said Kothi does not reflect in our list of allotted houses under the House Allotment Committee. Neither was it ever allotted through DC office, nor is it maintained by the Public Works Department (PWD). It is owned and maintained by Ludhiana Municipal Corporation and they also carried repair works in the property from time to time. My predecessor had written to the government recommending allotment of a house to the MP but it was rejected. The matter was never taken up again apparently by this office”.
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Ravneet Singh Bittu stays at the BJP office after he vacated the govt house. (Express Photo) Ravneet Singh Bittu stays at the BJP office after he vacated the govt house. (Express Photo)
Ludhiana MC commissioner Sandeep Rishi, however, says that in a letter dated December 17, 2015, the MC had shifted the said house to the DC-led house allotment committee for usage under general pool. “It was also duly written in the letter that the district administration has to recover rent/water/sewage charges from the occupant and send them to MC,” says Rishi.
The officer added that it has been found that Bittu had moved into the house in January 2016 but now the DC office has denied allotting the house to the MP. “According to our records, the MC had already shifted the house to district administration on their request. He (Bittu) even moved into the house in January 2016,” says Rishi. However, Sawhney says: “There’s no record of any allotment of this property with us.”
The house of Ravneet Singh Bittu that remains shut. (Express photo by Gurmeet Singh) The house of Ravneet Singh Bittu that remains shut. (Express photo by Gurmeet Singh)
So, what did MC do, even as Bittu lived in the house but no rent was paid for eight years?
The civic body, despite knowing that Bittu was living in the house, failed to take any action or recover rent from the MP. In fact, it carried out repair works in the kothi from time to time. Bittu says that he paid monthly water and electricity bills but never received any notice regarding pending house rent and other arrears. MC commissioner Rishi says: “Since we were under the impression that the house was allotted to MP through DC office, in such cases, it becomes their responsibility to collect the rent and get it deposited in MC’s account. That never happened.”
Did Bittu declare occupancy of this house in his election affidavits?
No, he did not. Bittu did not mention this house in his affidavit. In his 2019 affidavit, under the category government dues, he only declared no-dues pending for his Delhi official residence “28, Rajindra Prasad Road, New Delhi”. In the fresh affidavit filed Friday, he has again only mentioned Delhi residence as his government accommodation, not the Ludhiana one.
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So how did Bittu file nomination for 2019 Lok Sabha elections?
Even as Bittu never paid rent and there was no action, the Ludhiana civic body issued him a no-dues pending certificate (NDC), required for filing nomination. “Yes, we have now found that NDC was issued to Bittu in 2019 as no pending dues reflected in MC record,” says Rishi.
How did the civic body wake up now? What action has been taken?
Bittu applied for NDC earlier this week before filing the nomination for 2024 election, and records were rechecked. On May 8, the office of DC wrote to MC stating that the said house was never allotted to Bittu via their office. On the night of May 9, he was sent a notice by the Municipal Town Planner stating that he has to clear dues worth Rs 1.82 crore to obtain the NDC. The notice (copy with The Indian Express) further states that the amount has been reached after assessing the market rate according to which his pending dues were Rs 91.49 lakh from January 1, 2016 to May 8, 2024. But since he has been found living in the house “illegally”, he has to pay the double the rent as penalty, as per the notification issued by department of personnel and administrative reforms, translating to Rs 1.82 crore. The notice further ordered Bittu to vacate the house immediately and mentioned that no rent was ever received against the house as per MC records.
What has Bittu and BJP said?
Bittu, who obtained NDC Friday after clearing Rs 1.82 crore dues, said that he had to pledge a chunk of his ancestral land at Kotla Afghana village, to arrange the money. He alleged that the ‘scared’ AAP tried to stop his nomination. “The house was allotted to me in 2016 during the SAD-BJP government due to security reasons. I contested two elections afterwards (in 2017 and 2019) but no notice was issued. I had also cleared electricity and water bills. Why was I never issued notice earlier? I am a Z-plus protectee getting regular threats from Khalistanis and gangsters. If something happens to me, Punjab CM and DGP will be responsible.”
Blaming AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal for rendering him “homeless”, Bittu reached BJP office Friday late and spent night there.
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BJP’s Punjab affairs incharge and former Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani called it a “sinister design of AAP to thwart the nominations of BJP candidates in Punjab.”
What is the Congress, of which Bittu was part till last month, saying?
Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring Saturday, said it should be investigated how Bittu managed to deposit Rs 1.82 crore in such short time. “He is saying that he had to mortgage his land and jewellery but it should be a matter of investigation how he managed to arrange such huge amount overnight. Was the amount already with him or sent by someone,” asked Warring, who is contesting against Bittu in Ludhiana.
The Congress leader said it a policy which applies on every individual that one has to clear government dues before filing nomination. “The rule wasn’t especially created for Bittu,” Warring said, adding that the development has put Bittu’s 2019 Lok Sabha election affidavit under scanner as then he was issued a no dues pending certificate without paying rent for the government accommodation.
In 2019, there was a Congress government in Punjab.
“Bittu used to taunt me that I don’t have a house in Ludhiana but he could not have his own house here in 10 years despite being an MP,” said Warring. “Oh khud kade Ludhiana de lokan da nahi ho sakeya (He failed to become one of own for Ludhiana people),” said Warring, adding “Bittu was a tourist who visits Ludhiana only during elections.”
