Unauthorised occupation of quarters at Bokaro Steel Township has increased: Kulaste

New Delhi, Aug 1 (PTI) Illegal occupation of residential quarters at state-owned SAIL's Bokaro Steel Township in Jharkhand has increased during 2018 to 2022, Minister of State for Steel Faggan Singh Kulaste said on Monday.

This was mainly on account of occupation of quarters by former employees, he added.

"During the last five years, unauthorised occupation of quarters has increased from 399 as on 31/03/2018 to 1377 as on 31/03/2022 mainly on account of unauthorised occupation of quarters by ex employees (828 nos. beyond retention cases as on 31/03/22)," Kulaste informed the Rajya Sabha.

However, action was taken under the provisions of the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act 1971 and 227 quarters got vacated during the said period by orders of Estate Court, Kulaste said in reply to a question.

The total cost of electricity supplied to Bokaro township during FY 2020-21 was approximately Rs 119.33 crore. Distribution/transmission loss due to technical reasons, old cables conductors and unauthorised connections etc was 38.87 per cent, he added.

Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), under the Ministry of Steel, is the country's largest steel company. It owns and operates five integrated steel plants, including the Bokaro Steel plant. Its township was set up for the employees of the company.

An email seeking SAIL's response on the issue remained unanswered. PTI ABI ABI ABM ABM