HARDAYAL SINGH RAWAT Vs. CHANDIGARH HOUSING BOARD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This order will dispose of four writ petitions, i.e., Civil Writ Petitions No. 2375, 3144, 3663 and 4656, all of the year 2008, in which challenge has been laid to Self-Financing Housing Scheme-2008 (in short 2008 Scheme) floated by Chandigarh Housing Board to allot flats on leasehold basis, for 99 years, to the employees of Chandigarh Administration. For facility of dictating judgment, facts are being taken from Civil Writ Petition No. 2375 of 2008.

(2.) It is case of the petitioner that he joined Haryana Civil Secretariat as a Clerk in the year 1973 and on superannuation, retired as Superintendent on February 28, 2006. Before his retirement, petitioner was living in House No. 2207, Sector 27-C, Chandigarh, allotted to him by the Chandigarh Administration, in the year 1994, when he was working as an Assistant.

(3.) The petitioner has laid challenge to the 2008 Scheme on the ground that it is discriminatory and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India, because right to apply for a flat has been given only to the employees of Chandigarh Administration, its Boards, Corporation and employees of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and employees on deputation with Chandigarh Administration. Further challenge has been laid to condition 2(b) in the Scheme, which provides that an employee can apply only for a flat as per his group, i.e., as for example a Group C employee has been held entitled for one bed room flat and not as per requirement of that employee. It is prayer of the petitioner that directions be issued to the respondent - Board to treat the petitioner as eligible and allot a flat to him as per his demand. In this writ petition, basic challenge is to the eligibility for allotment of flats to the employees, who are on deputation with Chandigarh Administration. It is grievance of the petitioner that they have wrongly been made eligible to get flats under the 2008 Scheme, whereas said benefit of the Scheme has been declined to the employees of the State of Haryana, who are working in connection with the affairs of the State and are posted at Chandigarh. It is case of the petitioner that employees on deputation can be repatriated back to their parent department and as such benefit of the 2008 Scheme should not have been given to them. It is further stated by the petitioner that employees of Haryana Civil Secretariat are entitled to get Government accommodation provided by U.T. Administration. However, when formulating the above said Scheme, the benefit has wrongly been declined to them. The petitioner has further stated that regular employees of Chandigarh Administration, its Boards , Corporations , Punjab and Haryana High Court and employees on deputation with Chandigarh Administration do not constitute socially and economically weaker class, for which respondent could make 100% reservation. The petitioner further averred that an option should have been given to an employee to apply as per his requirement and not on the basis of category, in which he falls. He prays that the scheme be set aside or modified so as to make the petitioner eligible to get allotted a flat under the above said Scheme.