|
Chandigarh: Savitri
Jindal, said to be India's richest woman, was Friday asked by the
Punjab and Haryana High Court to vacate within 15 days her
government accommodation, which she had been occupying
unauthorisedly.
The court said that if Jindal failed to vacate the government
bungalow within the stipulated time, the estate officer here would
complete eviction proceedings within six weeks.
Jindal, a legislator of the ruling Congress in Haryana and mother
of industrial tycoon and high-profile MP Naveen Jindal, has been
occupying a ministerial bungalow in Chandigarh's upscale Sector 7
even though she ceased to be a minister in 2009.
She has been listed by a leading publication as the country's
richest woman as she lords over a huge multi-billion steel and
power sector empire being the chairperson of the Jindal group. Her
name also figures among the Top-100 richest people in the world.
Jindal is the Congress legislator from Hisar. She had been a
minister of state for power in the Bhupinder Singh Hooda
government from 2005 to 2009. Her industrialist-cum-politician
husband, O.P. Jindal, who was a minister in the Hooda government,
was killed when his private helicopter crashed near the Haryana-Uttar
Pradesh border March 2005.
The Haryana government had informed the high court last month that
they had served a 15-day notice to Jindal to vacate her government
house which she had been "occupying unauthorisedly".
Former Haryana transport minister O.P. Jain, who was forced to
resign from the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government June 2011 after
he was booked by police for a murder conspiracy, was also asked to
vacate his ministerial bungalow within 15 days.
Both former ministers were also asked to deposit penal rent,
amounting to Rs.89 lakh in Jindal's case and Rs.38 lakh in Jain's
case by the state government. Both leaders were served the notices
March 4.
Taking strong exception to the government houses being occupied
illegally by powerful people, the high court also directed former
Punjab chief minister and Congress leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal to
vacate her government bungalow within 15 days also. Bhattal has
been in occupation of the bungalow, located in Chandigarh's
high-security Sector 2, even though she ceased to be leader of
opposition in the state last year.
The high court had, last month, asked the Punjab government why
eviction proceedings had not been initiated against Bhattal.
|
Comments
Chinese
Incursion
Haj
2013
|
Quick links