Tensions are escalating between technocrats from the Jal Shakti Department and the district bureaucracy in Kangra over the recent allotment of a government house in Dharamsala.
The Engineers Association of the Jal Shakti Department is protesting the Deputy Commissioner’s decision to reassign a general pool quarter, which has been occupied by the department for 32 years, to the Commissioner of the Dharamsala Municipal Corporation.
Sandeep Guleria, spokesperson for the Engineers Association, voiced the department’s frustration, stating that the house had long served as essential accommodation for the Superintendent Engineer (SE) of the Jal Shakti Department. According to Guleria, the sudden reallocation of the residence, without prior consultation or regard for the department’s needs, was an unjust and disruptive decision. He further emphasised that the house had been critical for the SE posted in Dharamsala for decades and that the new allotment violated established departmental housing traditions.
In addition to the reallocation, the DC imposed a penal recovery of rent on the SE of the Jal Shakti Department, requiring him to vacate the house, even during his retirement ceremony. Guleria criticised this action as punitive and said it would negatively impact the morale of engineers who serve the public tirelessly.
The Engineers Association, alongside technocrats from the Public Works Department (PWD) and Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Pvt Ltd, is planning to join forces in protest. They have sought intervention from the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister, urging the Deputy Commissioner to reverse the allotment, cancel the penal recovery, and provide justice to their department.
However, Kangra Deputy Commissioner Hemraj Bairwa dismissed the claims, stating that the Engineers Association was sensationalising the issue. He asserted that the house in question was part of the general pool and could be allocated to anyone, regardless of past occupants. Bairwa offered to assign an alternative house from the general pool to the SE of the Jal Shakti Department, emphasising that long-term occupancy did not entitle the department to adverse possession rights over the property.