Artists illegally availing of government accommodation in the Asiad Games Village here may have been sent eviction notices by the Directorate of Estates following a court order on their ouster, but the Urban Development Ministry is already trying to find ways of bringing ‘‘relief’’ to the ‘‘eminent personalities’’.A high-level source in the Ministry said, ‘‘They are deserving people. The government is in the process of finding a way to bring them relief.’’The Ministry claims that the court order came at an inopportune moment. ‘‘These artists were allotted houses in the Asiad Village on the ground that they were eminent people who needed government support to carry on their work. Their ‘eminence’ has not diminished in any way, so should the government’s stand on their status change? Their allotment has been regularly extended every three years. It was pending when the court orders came.’’Interestingly, right after the court order directing the government to have the houses vacated, S Jaipal Reddy in his capacity as the Culture Minister, had written to the then Urban Development Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad requesting him to treat the artistes’ case as special. Now that the Urban Development portfolio is with Reddy, he has to take a decision on his own plea.The artistes who have been overstaying include Asad Ali Khan, Sabri Khan, Bharati Shivaji, Jatin Das, Wasifuddin Dagar, Jayarama and Banashree Rao.
