Bokaro Steel quarters illegally occupied by retired chairman of consumer court SS Alam and (above) hazaribagh home guard commandant PK Srivasatav. Pictures by Pankaj Singh

Bokaro, July 20: At a time Bokaro Steel is trying to comply with Jharkhand High Court orders to vacate quarters illegally occupied by VVIPS, it has come to light that 23 quarters owned by the public sector undertaking and given to the district administration as part of the deputy commissioner’s quota are in unauthorised possession of several high-profile individuals for years now.

The illegal occupants include senior bureaucrats, a former legislator, executive engineer, sales tax official, former chairman of a consumer court besides two home guard commandants and other officials posted elsewhere in the state.

The Bokaro steel plant management has allotted 283 quarters to the deputy commissioner’s “pool”, while more than 550 quarters have been allotted to the police to house officials while they are posted in the steel hub, and which they are required to vacate as soon as they are transferred.

The responsibility of allotting the quarters and getting them vacated lies with the deputy commissioner and superintendent of police respectively. However, despite retiring or being transferred, dozens of allotees have held on to the quarters illegally, with some going to the extent of giving out the premises on rent.

The file relating to illegal encroachment of DC pool quarters (which is in possession of The Telegraph) showed that former Bokaro MLA Israil Ansari (quarter number 3D-52), the relative of a serving legislator (quarter number 1C-685), home guard commandant Dhanbad S.S. Prasad (quarter number 3E-345), home guard commandant (Hazaribagh) P.K Srivasatav (quarter number 3B-227) retired chairman of consumer court S.S. Alam (quarter number 1C-808), sales tax officer G .S. Kapardar (quarter number 6/A-1202), executive engineer Sanjay Kujur, (quarter number 12B-429), among others, were in illegal possession of the quarters.

The 23 names came to light following an investigation by Chas sub divisional officer Sudhir Ranjan, who has submitted the list to the Bokaro deputy commissioner for necessary action.

Among the illegal dwellers is the close relative of a senior IAS officer who got the quarter when he was posted here as commissioner and still retains the premises. The confidential file even has five blank columns where no names are mentioned, but only the quarter numbers.

The probe into the illegal occupation of quarters was ordered by Bokaro deputy commissioner Amitabh Kaushal after he received several complaints. Speaking to The Telegraph, Kaushal said necessary action would be taken to oust the encroachers.