New turn to Jagmohan's notice

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, JULY 11.

The notice by the Union Urban Development Minister, Mr. Jagmohan, asking the Delhi Government to vacate office space in the Old Secretariat took an interesting turn with the Delhi Assembly officials maintaining that the Ministry had no jurisdiction and the demand was uncalled for.

Officials in the Assembly Secretariat said the Old Secretariat complex was under the jurisdiction of the Delhi Assembly which, in turn, was administered by the Speaker, Chaudhary Prem Singh. They pointed out that the Assembly had been functioning in the present premises since 1912 and was under the charge of the State government since then.

``I was surprised to read about the notice to vacate the Old Secretariat premises. Mr. Jagmohan has not written to me. But whenever any such communication comes, I will take appropriate action. But one thing is clear that the Speaker is the sole authority as far as the Assembly premises is concerned,'' Chaudhary Prem Singh told The Hindu.

However, it is believed that the Chief Minister has forwarded the letter to the Speaker for action. In fact, the Assembly staff have been asked to trace out the history of the building, built during British rule. Officials were busy fishing out records and other documents to prepare themselves for countering the notice slapped by the Union Urban Development Ministry.

``All Ministers have not shifted to the new building at Indraprastha Sachivalaya. Two of them are still functioning from the Old Secretariat. Once they hand over charge of the rooms to us, we will take necessary action. But in no case are we going to vacate the premises, as it belongs to us and the people of Delhi,'' an Assembly official added.

On its part, these officials maintained that it was the practice all over the country for Ministers and senior bureaucrats to have their offices in the Vidhan Sabha premises for use during the Assembly session. These rooms are necessary for discharging officials duties and meeting the people who come with their problems to meet the Ministers and the Chief Minister. There is nothing unique about Delhi.

It even happens in Parliament where Ministers have rooms, including that for Opposition and political parties. It is argued that even Mr. Jagmohan has an office in Parliament for discharging his duties. These rooms are allotted by the Assembly Secretariat.

Earlier, it is argued, there was a unique situation as both the Secretariat and the Vidhan Sabha continued to function from the same premises. But now with Delhi Government having its own building, the vacated premises would be taken possession of by the Assembly Secretariat. Subsequently, allocations would be made to the Ministers, their staff and the bureaucrats. The Chief Minister, Ms.Sheila Dikshit, said she was amazed to receive the letter from Mr. Jagmohan and said it was an ``unjustified and uncalled for'' act.

But officials of the Union Urban Development Ministry contest the Delhi Government officials stand by stating that the issue was not about property but the parallel use of space which could be utilised for better purposes. They are confident that the Delhi Government would see reason and hand over the four lakh sq feet of vacant space for allocation to various agencies.

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