The Directorate of Estates under the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry on Wednesday sent a team to evict the family of the late Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan from 12, Janpath, the bungalow he had lived in from 1989 till his death in 2020, according to sources aware of the development.
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Over three decades since the Paswan family moved into the government-allotted accommodation and eight months after an eviction notice was issued, the house was being emptied out by the Directorate of Estates as on Wednesday evening, with the process likely to go on till late night, according to a Ministry official.
The bungalow had not only served as the late Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) founder’s residence, but also the party’s office since it was founded in 2000. Paswan’s son, Jamui MP Chirag Paswan, had been trying to establish a museum in his father’s honour at the house.
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Eviction order
The bungalow was allotted to Paswan on March 14, 1990 in his capacity as the then Labour Minister, while he had occupied it before that in another capacity, according to the official. After his death on October 8, 2020, his family was eligible to retain the bungalow till November 7, 2020 rent-free and then for another month on payment of the usual licence fee and electricity and water charges, the official said. Eviction proceedings were started against the family on January 6, 2021 after they failed to vacate the house and the eviction order was passed on July 14, 2021, the official said.
Mr. Chirag Paswan has been allotted another government accommodation being an MP, the official said. The 12, Janpath house was allotted to Railways and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in August 2021, according to Ministry officials, but had not been handed over to him as it had not been vacated.
The eviction was the third in as many days, with former Ministers P.C. Sarangi and Ram Shanker Katheria being asked to vacate the homes allotted to them while they were ministers, the official said.
(With inputs from Sobhana K. Nair)