CHANDIGARH: Satya Pal Jain, Ex-MP & a Senior Leader of the BJP has urged  Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India to issue clear-cut orders to the Chandigarh Administration to allot 13 Type Houses to its occupants, instead of writing routine, vague and illusory letters, to the local officials, if the Central Government sincerely wants to accept this genuine demand of the occupants of the 13 Type Houses of UT Chandigarh.

In a letter written to the Prime Minister,  Jain has said that hundreds of poor Government Employees who were allotted 13 Type Houses in various parts of the city, especially Sectors 7, 10, 15, 16, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, have been struggling for allotting these houses to them for the last so many years, in view of the policy framed by the Government in 1985. During the last Lok Sabha and Municipal Corporation Elections, the Congress(I) Party, the Local MP and Dr. Manmohan Singh, who had come to Chandigarh to campaign for the Congress (I) candidate in May 2004, had given a commitment to these employees that in case Congress (I) comes to power in the centre, it will immediately accept this demand and allot 13 Type houses to their occupants on hire-purchase basis.

However, inspite of the Congress(I) coming to power in the centre 3 years back and inspite of Local Congress(I) MP having become a Minister in the Central Government and inspite of the representatives of UT Joint Action Committee of 13 Type Houses having met all the important leaders of the UPA at New Delhi, nothing concrete has been done so far in this direction except the MP and some other central ministers, writing letters to one or the other officials, which have failed to produce any worthwhile result.

Jain said in his letter to the PM that Chandigarh being a UT is directly under the control of the Central Government and therefore instead of writing letters, he should issue clear-cut orders in this regard. He said that the BJP fully supports this genuine demand of the employees and will support the central government on each and every step that the government will take about accepting this demand. He urged the PM to either get this proposal approved by the Union Cabinet or if need be, bring suitable legislation in Parliament which will be fully supported by the BJP. Otherwise, he said, people will be perfectly justified to conclude that your government is not sincere in this matter and your government is just trying to pass time by misleading the employees. He urged the PM to deal with the issue more sincerely and more seriously and accept this genuine demand without any further delay.