Leased residential accomodation - payment of overrun charges by ONGC

Sub: Lease Charges for ONGC hired residential accommodation – Payment of Overrun Charges by ONGC at New Delhi

Dear Sir,

We would like to take this opportunity to draw your attention to the ever increasing problem of residential accommodation at New Delhi.

ONGC has shifted a number of offices at Delhi in the near past. However, the availability of colony accommodation has not kept pace with the influx of the officers. This has led to hiring of residential accommodation on lease in various areas of Delhi and its adjoining areas like Noida, Gurgaon, and Faridabad etc. All these areas are very expensive and the real estate hiring rates have really jumped during the last two/three years. This fact is corroborated by the number of individual officers posted at Delhi office, OVL, DGH and OISD etc. are paying a huge overrun over and above their entitlement. Numbers of these officers have not taken houses as per their entitlement or have taken houses in far flung areas just to avoid the huge cost they have to incur because of the higher lease charges.

Though this problem has been general however few cases have been cleared where ONGC has been paying the over run charges after the necessary approval. In fact those cases must have been approved after due market survey and seeing the higher rates of hiring residential accommodation compared to the limit that ONGC has set level wise for officers posted at ONGC. The present limit is HRA plus 10% i.e. 40% of the maximum of the scale of the officer in case of Delhi and adjoining areas.

Sir, the number of officers paying over run is nearly 170 officers. This is nearly 80% to 90% of the officers staying on lease. Officers in certain cases are paying nearly Rs. 7000 as over run over and above the entitle amount. While carrying out a survey of the rentals in Delhi and adjoining areas it was found that the rates are ranging between Rs.12000 to Rs. 14000 per month. It is requested that for Delhi the overrun in case of officers may be allowed upto Rs. 4500 per month in each case. This would definitely go a long way in easing the monetary loss that the individuals are suffering due to his/her posting at Delhi and also ease the problem of residential accommodation at Delhi.

With best regards.
Yours sincerely,

(Amit Kumar)
President ASTO, Delhi

Copy to:

1. ED- Chief –ER, Dehradun.
2. GM (CA&C) – ONGC, New Delhi.
3. President/General Secretary – ASTO CWC.
4. Office Copy.