Evacuee Department has become a law unto itself. It sits in command of vast Evacuee property in both the regions and behaves like an independent entity answerable to none. It thinks it has unrestricted authority of distributing favours to select persons and recipients without being called to justify. This is how authoritarianism grows under the very nose of powers that be. The CAG has brought to light glaring and gross irregularities advertantly committed in most cases, by the functionaries of the EP Department. CAG has recorded various instances to substantiate its observation that the EP Department has functioned arbitrarily in some case of allotting flats, tampering with rent scales, showing undue favours and the like of it. It says that 1.5 lakh kanals of evacuee land is under illegal occupation and the Department has not taken any step of its eviction. EP property has been allotted arbitrarily on pick and chose basis ignoring the procedures and rules. This has caused big financial loss to the State. The CAG has specifically mentioned the case of Sehar Iqbal to whom a flat in Sanat Nagar was allotted in contravention of all norms and rules.
There have been many complaints against the Custodian of Evacuee Property. No meaningful enquiry has been ordered into alleged irregularities and complaints brought against it. Now that the CAG has also focused attention on it and has highlighted some glaring irregularities, we would like to impress upon the Government to overhaul the Department and cleanse it of all irregularities. Upgraded rules and regulations about maintenance of evacuee properties, its allotment and retention, rents received and administrative measures proposed all should be entrusted to a committee to reflect on all aspects of the functioning of the Department and suggest far-reaching improvements. Transparency should be the hallmark of its functions and especially the allotment of properties to persons and organizations through a rigid and strictly enforced set of updated rules. It has to be reminded that the Section 9 (2) (l) of the Act empowers the Custodian to allot or transfer any evacuee property with the previous approval of the Custodian General. Under the Act the allotment or transfer of any such property is required to be made in a transparent manner. The CAG reports that in many cases these instructions were not adhered to. The question is why higher authorities should not ask the concerned officers at the helm of affairs to explain the reason of circumventing the rules and taking arbitrary decisions?
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