PART B: M. A. SECTION

13.18 Responsibilities- The following items of work are dealt with in Members Amenities (M.A.) Section: -

i) House Committee;

ii) Joint Committee of Chairmen, House Committees of both the House of Parliament;

iii) Allotment of flats/bungalows/servant quarters and motor garages to the Members of Rajya Sabha and maintenance and liaison with CPWD and court cases;

iv) Allotment of accommodation for guest and marriage purposes to Members of Rajya Sabha;

v) Rent cases etc. of Members in respect of accommodation occupied by them;

vi) Reservation of accommodation in ITDC Hotels in Delhi for Members of Rajya Sabha and their guests;

vii) Telephone facilities in Delhi and Permanent/usual place of residence of Members;

viii) Electricity and water connections in MPs’ residences and liaison with NDMC;

ix) Allotment of electrical appliances, air-conditioners and refrigerators etc. at Members’ residences;

x) Allotment of defence discarded jeeps, jonga, motor cycles and ambassador cars to Members of Rajya Sabha;

xi) Transport arrangements for Members of Rajya Sabha to and from Parliament House to Members’ residential localities;

xii) Allotment of LPG connections to Members of Rajya Sabha;

xiii) Catering arrangements in Western Court Hostel and; MPs’ Canteens in North and South Avenues, and MPs’ Clubs in North and South Avenues;

xiv) Issue of Ration Cards to Members;

xv) Filing of tax returns;

xvi) Medical facilities for Members and arranging visits to see ailing Members admitted in;

xvii) Demise of sitting Members in Delhi – Action on;

xviii) Processing of Refreshment bills in respect of Deputy Chairman’s Office;

xix) Formulation of policy regarding allotment of General Pool accommodation to various political parties;

xx) Committee on Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS);

xxi) Publication of List of Members;

Procedure regarding these items are as follows:

13.19 House Committee- The House Committee comprises seven Members nominated by Chairman Rajya Sabha and deals with: -

i) all matters relating to residential accommodation of Members;

ii) facilities for telephone, food, medical aid and other amenities accorded to Members; and

iii) proposals and suggestions regarding providing of amenities to Members.

The Committee meets as often as required. The procedure for holding meetings etc. are similar to that in the case of other Committees discussed in Chapter XII.

13.20 Joint Committee of Chairmen, House Committees of both the Houses of Parliament- Requests from Members which are of common interest to Members of both the Houses of Parliament are processed in this Section and sent to the Lok Sabha Secretariat for consideration of Joint Committee of Chairmen, House Committees of both the Houses of Parliament. For this purpose a detailed agenda note is prepared and sent to the Lok Sabha Secretariat. The meeting etc. is organised by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

13.21 Allotment of Accommodation for Members of Rajya Sabha-

13.21.1 Housing and Telephone facilities to Members under Rule 1956: Under sub-rule (1) of the rule 2 of the Housing and Telephone Facilities (Members of Parliament) Rules, 1956 as amended from time to time, Members are eligible without payment of rent to housing accommodation in the form of a flat or bungalow.

Applications for allotment of accommodation are to be made in writing in a prescribed form (available in Notice Office and M.A. Section) by the individual Member to the Chairman, House Committee, Rajya Sabha. There is no time limit for application. While applying for accommodation a Member is required to indicate his second and third preferences for alternative accommodation as owing to shortage of accommodation, it may not always be possible to allot the particular type of accommodation desired.

The applications including application for allotment of higher type, exchanges, etc. are entered in the Accommodation Application Register maintained in the following format before being placed in files maintained Member wise. These files are used for all correspondence in respect of the Members concerned.

Sr. No.

Name of M.P.

File No.

Date of Application

Categories Applied for

Eligible Categories

Date of Allotment (Where allotted)

On being allotted accommodation, entry is made in the Residence Allotment Register which is maintained area-wise, with a page for each house as follows:-

House Address_____________________________

Category_____________________________

S. No.

S. No. in Application Register

Name of Allottee

File No.

Date of Allotment

Date of Occupation

Date of ceasing to be eligible

Date of Vacation

Remarks (enter details of allotment of SQ.Garage, extension of time of occup. Etc.)

The addresses of allotted accommodation (along with changed telephone number) is included as an item in the Part-II Bulletins for general information. Whenever the addresses and telephone numbers in the List of Members printed by Table Office is to be updated, the Guard File of Bulletins and the allotment register are consulted and changes made in the list and sent to Table Office.

13.21.2 Norms for Allotment: As per norms adopted by the House Committee the following categories of Members are considered for allotment of bungalow type accommodation: -

i) Former Ministers in the Union Government.

ii) Chairmen, Parliamentary Committee, Rajya Sabha.

iii) Members of Parliament who have served more than one term.

iv) Members who have served as Governor, Diplomat or in distinguished positions

v) Members who are in the panel of Vice-Chairmen.

vi) Former Minister from a State who held the portfolio of Cabinet Minister.

vii) Leader of a recognised Party in the Rajya Sabha.

viii) Members who are under ‘z’ category security cover.

On the basis of applications received, a proposal is put up for allotment of accommodation according to the norms prescribed. A waiting list is also maintained for a particular type of accommodation. The proposal is submitted through the Director (MA), Joint Secretary and Secretary-General to the Chairman, House Committee who takes the decision in this regard.

13.21.3 Allotment of servant quarter and motor garages- Applications for allotment of Servant Quarter and Motor Garages are also to be made in writing in the prescribed form to the Chairman, House Committee, Rajya Sabha. An application register is maintained in the following format: -

Name of Member

Residence

File No.

Date of Application

Application for SQ/MG

Preference of allotment

An allotment register is also maintained in the same format as for residential accommodation in respect of SQ/G allotted.

Since there is a shortage of servant quarters and motor garages, it may not be possible to meet the demand of all Members in this respect. Therefore, allotment of motor garage is made on production of photocopy of registration certificate of the Member’s own vehicle. A waiting list is maintained and on the occurrence of vacancies, allotment is proposed as per the waiting list.

13.21.4 Procedure for obtaining occupation slips and surrender of residences: Orders regarding allotment of accommodation to Members are issued by the M.A Section. Members are required to collect occupation slips from this Section.

When a residence is allotted to a Member he is informed that its possession should be taken through the concerned CPWD Service Centre. Similarly, when the accommodation allotted to a Member is surrendered by him, he is advised that its vacant possession should be given to the concerned CPWD Service Centre. Till such vacant possession is given, the Member is deemed to be in occupation of the residence and will be responsible for any loss or damage to Government property.

13.21.5 Court cases with regard to residential accommodation- This Section also deals the court cases with regard to vacation of residential units after the occupant ceases to be eligible to retain the accommodation. In case an ex-Member does not vacate the said accommodation within the stipulated time, the Directorate of Estates is requested to take necessary action under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971 to secure the vacant possession of the premises. Some ex-Members obtain stay order from the higher court against the eviction order of the Director of Estates. In such cases, this Section engages a separate lawyer for vacating the stay order of the Court after obtaining orders of Chairman.

The progress in these cases is monitored through the Accommodation Court Cases Register maintained in the following format: -

ACCOMMODATION COURT CASES REGISTER

S.N.

Property Description

Name of Member/ occupier

Date of Reference to Direc. of Estates

Operative portion of Collector’s Final Order with date

Whether appeal etc. filed in higher court if so, date

Date of Final decision and operative portion of order

Date of Vacation

13.22 Furniture- Every Member is entitled without payment of rent for furniture within the monetary ceiling of Rs. 24,000 in respect of durable furniture and Rs. 6,000 for non-durable furniture for the residential accommodation provided to him. Request for extra or new furniture is to be made by the Member in writing to the concerned CPWD Service Centers. CPWD prepares estimates and send to this Section for processing. This Section examines as to how much has already been spent and how much is to be spent on account of fresh demand from the Member. Thereafter this is placed before House Committee for consideration. In case the proposals are cleared, administrative approval is issued by this Section for implementation.

For this purpose a Check Register is maintained in the following format, with one page reserved for each Member: -

NAME OF MEMBER_________ FILE NO.______

S. No.	Item Description	Cost	Progressive Total		Remarks/Return of Item etc.
			Durable	Non-Durable

13.23 Maintenance of flats/bungalows servant quarters and motor garages - For the normal maintenance of bungalows and flats and for repairs of a minor nature, Members may write direct to the concerned CPWD Service Centers. Requests for additions or alterations in bungalows or flats should be made to the Chairman, House Committee for his consideration. All requests are entered in the following Register of Additions and Alterations.

S. N.

Name of Member

Address

File No.

Name of Work

Estimated Cost

Date of Approval by Committee

Date of Completion of work

All estimates for administrative approval are processed in the Section, keeping in view the expenditure involved and other desirability as per norms. Thereafter these are placed before the House Committee for consideration. The House Committee may sanction items of work involving expenditure upto Rs. 30,000. If the estimate is above Rs. 30,000 the Committee refers the case to Ministry of Urban Affairs & Employment. The Chairman, House Committee himself can approve cases upto Rs. 2,000 in case the item pertains to providing electrical fittings. The progress of the execution of the work is entered in the Register.

13.24 Arrangement of temporary stay of newly elected Members in state guest houses located in Delhi- Until a Member is provided regular accommodation in New Delhi, arrangements are made for temporary stay of members in State Guest Houses/Bhawans etc. of their respective States.

On election or nomination of a Member to the Rajya Sabha, this Section requests the respective State Guest Houses to reserve a single suite for the newly elected/nominated member. Payment on this account is made by the Directorate of Estates from the date of election/notification to that effect issued by the Ministry of Law upto the day a Member takes occupation of a regular accommodation. Rent bills received from the respective State Guest Houses are processed in this Section and forwarded to the Directorate of Estates for payment.

13.25 Liaison with N.D.M.C.- Electricity and water connections to flats or bungalows are to be arranged by Members themselves with the help of this Section. Sometimes Members complain that they have received inflated electricity/water bills in respect of their accommodation. This Section arranges a meeting between the representative of the N.D.M.C. and concerned Member in the presence of Chairman, House Committee, Rajya Sabha to resolve such matters. All complaints are duly entered in a complaint register. The register of complaints is put up daily to Dir. (MA) to monitor progress of disposal of complaints. In case of delay in taking action, Dir. (MA) or Joint-Secretary may telephonically contact the agency concerned to ensure immediate resolution of the complaint. The final outcome is intimated in writing to the Member in each case. The register of complaints is maintained in the following format and updated till final disposal.

S. N.

Name of Member

File No.

Date of Complaint

Subject of Complaint

Agency to which referred for action

Expected date of reply

Final disposal of Complaint with date

13.26 Allotment of accommodation for guest and marriage purposes- A flat has been earmarked for marriage purposes for the Members and guests of Members. On receipt of applications for such allotment, it is verified from the booking Register that the flat and adjoining lawn is available for the purpose. If it is available, necessary permission is obtained from Chairman, House Committee and letter to the concerned Member is sent with the request to deposit necessary security and rent for the purpose. The Booking Register is kept on the following format:-

S. No.

Name of Member

Date of Application

Dates for which required

Whether approved or not (with reason if not approved)

13.27 Allotment of guest accommodation in Western Court Hostel and V.P. House-Guests of Members come to Delhi from the States for various reasons. Arrangement is made to accommodate the guests in Western Court Hostel, V.P. House and North Avenue/South Avenue on payment of rent. In respect of requests for V.P. House suites and flats in North Avenue/South Avenue, these are processed in the Section and proposals are put up to Chairman House Committee for allotment of guest accommodation subject to availability. Guest accommodation in Western Court Hostel, are received in the office of Chairman, House Committee directly and the allotment letters are issued as per his directions. On expiry of allotment period, the Section verifies as to whether the unit has been vacated by the guest. In case it is not vacated , necessary action to evict the guest is taken.

13.28 Action on Members’ retirement, resignation and death- Accommodation allotted to a Member can be retained by him for a maximum period of one month after retirement, resignation, removal or otherwise on his ceasing to be a Member of Parliament, on payment of the same license fee which he was paying immediately before the occurrence of that event. In the event of death of a Member, however, the family of the deceased Member can retain accommodation for a period of two months from the date of demise on payment of concessional fee as was being charged before his death.

In the case of death of a Member during the term of his office, the Members of his family are entitled to retain the telephone for a period not exceeding two months from the death of the Member. In case a Member retires or ceases to be a Member he can retain one telephone as a private subscriber, if he has not availed this facility before.

On receipt of the information from the Table Office, with regard to retirement, resignation and death of any Member, this Section issues letters to such Members and the family of the deceased Member about the above position.

13.29 Examination of cases of overstay- Members are personally responsible for occupation and vacation of the accommodation allotted to them. The Directorate of Estates charges market rent in cases of overstay. This Section examines each case under the relevant rules and places the same before the Chairman, House Committee, Rajya Sabha. The decision taken by the Committee thereon is forwarded to the Directorate of Estates and the concerned Member.

13.30 Reservation of accommodation in ITDC Hotels in Delhi - Members of Rajya Sabha are provided accommodation in the India Tourism Development Corporation Hotels in Delhi for themselves and their guests on concessional rent. Desiring members have to write to this Section for allotment of accommodation in ITDC Hotels in Delhi. This Section processes the Members’ requests and forwards the same to the respective Hotels for allotment of accommodation.

13.31 Telephone facilities in Delhi and permanent/usual place of residence of Members- Under the Housing and Telephone Facility, Members of Parliament Rules, 1956 as amended from time to time, a Member is entitled to have two telephones, one at his residence in Delhi and other at his usual place of residence or a place selected by him within the State he represent or resides. Installation charges, monthly rental and local call charges to the extent of one lakh local calls or trunk calls equivalent thereof in a financial year are borne by Government.

All requests for installation/re-opening his connection of the telephone are to be made by Members to this Section in the prescribed forms. A separate file is opened for each Member. The information regarding telephone no. allotment is kept in the Section: -

TELEPHONE ALLOTMENT REGISTER

S.N.	Name of member	Delhi Telephone		State Telephone		Remarks
		Tel. No.	Date of Installation	Tel. No.	Date of Installation

After processing the applications, these are sent to Liaison Officer/Telephones of MTNL for issuance of instructions. While telephone bills are processed by MS&A Section (please see para 13.12) complaints regarding wrong billing, malfunctioning etc. are processed in the Section on Members files. A complaint register is maintained in a manner similar to that for accommodation as given in para 13.25 and liaison is maintained with MTNL.

The Liaison Officer, MTNL, Parliament House Annexe will intimate the Section in case there is any change in the number, and an item is accordingly issued in the Part-II Bulletin after updating the entry in the Register. Whenever the List of Members is to be updated by Table Office, the Register is to be consulted and corrections made in the List and forwarded to the Table Office.

13.31.1 Surrender of telephone: Surrender of residential accommodation in Delhi does not mean the automatic surrender of telephones installed at a Member’s residences also. Members who desire to surrender the telephones at their residences in Delhi and their usual places of residences are to write to this Section or to the telephone authorities concerned. On receiving the request, Liaison Officer (Telephones) is advised to take necessary action in the light of the request received from the Member.

13.32 Allotment of electrical appliances, air-conditioners and refrigerators etc. - Requests from Members are received for supply of electrical appliances, viz., table fans, boilers, room heaters, table lamps and air-conditioning items viz. Refrigerators, room coolers, air-conditioners etc. at their residential units by this Section. These are immediately attended to by this Section and for this necessary letters are issued by Executive Officer himself as per Rules from the accommodation file of the Member.

13.33 Allotment of defence discarded jeeps, jonga, motor cycles and ambassador cars- Members of Parliament are eligible to have three types of vehicles viz. Jeeps/.Jonga/ Motor Cycles from Defence Disposal Stock. Applications for allotment of said vehicles are made in writing to this Section. This Section after processing the applications forwards the same to the Ministry of Defence for allotment of vehicles to the Members.

13.33.1 Allotment of vehicles from Maruti Udyog Limited: A sitting Member of Parliament is entitled to get a Maruti Vehicle from Maruti Udyog Limited on priority basis once in four years.

A Member is required to send his request in writing to this Section. This Section processes and forwards the same to Maruti Udyog Limited after scrutiny.

13.33.2 Transport arrangements for Members of Rajya Sabha: Members of Parliament are provided Van/mini bus service between Parliament House, Parliament House Annexe and Members’ residential localities and vice versa for their convenience. This Section arranges transport facilities with the help of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. This Section also arranges meetings with D.T.C. authority in case any Member desires change of route, timing, etc. of vans/buses. Members are informed about this arrangement through a Parliamentary Bulletin.

13.34 Allotment of LPG connection - Members are entitled to distribute 80 LPG connections within their state per quarter for which coupons are issued in a booklet form by the office of the Chairman House Committee who maintain a Register of coupons issued in the following format:-

Issuance of Priority voucher booklets to the MPs.

Name of M.P._______________Constituency________________ State____________________

M.P. Index No.__________Identity Card No.:______Specimen signature of M.P.___________

Date	Sl. No. of LPG Priority Vouchers issued			Issued for Quarter	Signature of M.P. acknowledging receipt of Vouchers	Counterfoil returned on
	From	To	Qty.