Santosh Kumar, a 1994 batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre, has been asked to vacate the bungalow he has been living and pay a penalty of ₹20.5 lakh for overstaying. Kumar has served as principal secretary to Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais. He was appointed as principal secretary to Governor in October 2019 when Bhagat Singh Koshyari was the Governor. He continued to serve with Ramesh Bais taking over in February 2023. Later he was transferred from Governor's office on August 2023.
Why eviction notice and penalty to Santosh Kumar?
Santosh Kumar was relieved from the post of principal secretary to Governor on August 30, 2023. He was residing at Jal Darshan bungalow in Raj Bhavan. As per rule, Kumar was to vacate the bungalow after three months from leaving the office. But he continued to stay there despite giving assurance that he would vacate the bungalow.
Vikas Kulkarni, comptroller of governor's household, issued Kumar eviction notice with penalty of ₹20.5 lakh for staying beyond the permissible limit. As per rule, he was to vacate the bungalow by November 30, 2023.
Santosh Kumar is currently serving as principal secretary and OSD (appeals) in revenue & forest department at Mantralaya.
What does the notice say?
The notice issued to Santosh Kumar said: “You were allotted government residence at Jal Darshan in Raj Bhavan when you were on the post of principal secretary to the governor… but this bungalow has not been vacated after a permissible period of 3 months after leaving office. As per rule 11(f) of the Raj Bhavan (Allotment of Residence Rules), 2010 it is mandatory to vacate the residence after the permissible period of 3 months. You were informed to vacate the said residence within 7 days from 01.02.2024. As per your letter dated 02.02.2024, you have taken charge of the post of principal secretary and OSD (appeals), revenue and forest department on 1.1.2024 and as you have not yet been allotted a new residence by the government it was requested to allow extension of time to reside in the present residence till you are allotted a new residence. This extension was given till Feb 22, 2024.”
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