MC chief awaits official house in Mohali
A month after being appointed the Mohali Municipal Corporation Commissioner, T Benith is struggling to get an accommodation as the official residence (House No.1987, Phase-V) is occupied by Ashwani Kumar Chaudhary, Chief Engineer, Local Bodies Department, Chandigarh.
Sources said Chaudhary is staying put in the residence, even though the accommodation allotted to him officially is House No. 1988, Phase-V, MC Complex. Chaudhary was allotted the house on December 30, 2020, but allegedly moved in to the adjacent accommodation — House No. 1987 — ‘accidentally’.
According to the rules, the rent for the house was supposed to be paid by Jalandhar MC to MC, Mohali, after deducting it from the official’s salary.
Chaudhary said, “I am living here in this house since 2020 after an official allotment was done. Earlier, I was allotted House No.1986, but later on, on some changes were made and I was allotted this house. I pay rent for it and will vacate it once I receive the order.”
Since 2020 on, no Municipal Corporation Commissioner has applied for this official accommodation as they had their own arrangement.
Benith, a 2018 batch IAS officer, is presently staying in Chandigarh at an accommodation allotted to him during his previous assignment. When contacted, Benith said, “There is no issue as such. I have an accommodation in Chandigarh presently.”
