NEW DELHI, June 23: Faced with criticism for circumventing a Supreme Court order with an ordinance regularising out-of-turn allotments, the government today sought to justify its action. Acting Minister of State for Urban Development Veerendra Kumar claimed the ordinance was ``within the parameters of the Supreme Court order, except for the eviction part''.

Describing the issue as a `human problem', Kumar said political parties had ``humanitarian compulsions for taking this step to save 1,800-odd government employees from eviction''.

Asked about the rights of the 40,000 government servants who were waiting in the queue for years, the minister said Rs 45 crore had been earmarked by the ministry for housing projects. Nearly 5,000 houses were currently under construction and would be completed as soon as possible. More houses would be built in a phased manner, he said.

The ordinance was promulgated by President Shankar Dayal Sharma last night in the nick of time, since the Supreme Court had set June 23 as the last date for evictions. Kumar said the ordinance would be made into a Bill in the coming session of Parliament. The draft was being prepared, he added.

According to reports, Urban Development Minister U Venkateswarlu, who is in hospital following a car accident, was neither consulted about the ordinance, nor was he said to be in favour of it. But Kumar said emphatically that he himself had consulted Venkateswarlu and obtained his consent.

There will still be some evictions though the minister was unable to specify how many. Cases where houses were obtained either through fraudulent means or were sub-let, or were above the person's entitlement, will face eviction. In the case of the latter, however, a house of the appropriate entitlement will be provided.

Out-of-turn allottees will be charged penal rent, but it is much lower than market rent. Those in Type III houses will have to pay twice the normal government rent while those occupying Type IV and above will have to pay three times the amount. Besides, the amount is to be collected in installments over the next two years.

According to the minister, it was decided at an all-party meeting last month that a way to prevent evictions should be found. The Law Ministry had advised the government that an appeal in the Supreme Court against a Supreme Court order would not be legal. ``Therefore the only alternative was an ordinance,'' Kumar explained at a press conference.

However, the BJP strongly opposed the move. At the party's daily briefing today, party spokesman Yashwant Sinha said the ordinance had upset a SC order and besides, it protected corruption. The government should not have taken recourse to the ordinance, he said. It was unfair to a large number of government servants waiting in the queue for accommodation, he maintained.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.