Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2019

Both the houses of Parliament have passed the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2019. The bill aims for speedy eviction of unauthorised occupants from government residential accommodations by building a deterrence effect.

Why there was a need to bring the amendment bill?

The Public Premises (Eviction Of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971empowers the government of India to evict unauthorized occupants from Government accommodations. But the eviction proceedings take an unusually long time, thereby reducing the availability of Government accommodations to new incumbents.

Under the existing PPE Act,1971 which was further amended in 2015, the eviction proceeding take around 5 to 7 weeks’ time. Further, it takes much longer, even years, to evict unauthorized occupants.

Features of the Bill

• To prevent undue delays the proposed Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2019 does not require the state officer to follow elaborate proceedings like serving notice, show cause, inquiry. Rather the officer can initiate summary eviction proceedings.
• The proposed amendments empower the Estate officer to levy damage charges for accommodation held during the period of litigation.

There are over 3,000 unauthorised occupants in government accommodations. All the members who have lost in the previous Lok Sabha elections were supposed to vacate the homes by June 23, but even after more than two months, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is still issuing routine notices.

This bill would aid in tackling such unauthorized occupations by enabling speedy eviction of unauthorised occupants from Government residences and increase the availability of residential accommodations for eligible persons.