About 250 quarters -- of the approximately 2,500 owned by the BMC in Mumbai -- have already been identified. The rest will soon be appended to the list, with all heads of department being asked to furnish details vide a circular dated August 10, signed by the municipal commissioner.

The move follows years of neglect by successive commissioners as well as the ubiquitous legal impediment,, which has allowed retired employees to reside in official quarters well beyond their service. In the meantime, employees who have waited 15 years for there quarters -- the minimum period tobecome eligible -- have been denied this privilege.

The BMC offers quarters located in various parts of the city -- Worli, Chinchpokli and Chembur -- to employees in various grades, from the municipal commissioner to the conservancy staff. These flats range in size from 350 sq ft to 700 sq ft and are thus categorised: General Category (it takes a minimum 15 years of service to become eligible) or the Special Category (for staff who have either undergone a major operation, are handicapped or are disabled), which has a four-year waiting period.

Civic sources say retired employees who continue to reside in such accommodation will have to vacate within a fortnight after being notified.

If they resist, they could be physically evicted.

Asked why staff had been allowed to stay on over the years, former municipal commissioner S S Tinaikar told Express Newsline that during his tenure a large number of retired employees had moved court and received stay orders. Moreover, he explained, over the years,the BMC had also allowed some employees to get these flats transferred in their names, which has been cited as grounds for a stay on eviction.

Civic sources said it is imperative that these flats be vacated as the administration could not afford to have its staff residing in the far-flung suburbs. ``What if there is an emergency and employees have to be summoned,'' he questions. He was categorical that the BMC could not afford to build any more quarters for its 1.5 lakh employees.

Tinaikar adds that the rent charged for the civic quarters is not regulated by the Bombay Rent Control Act, 1940, and can be raised if a proposal is tabled before the BMC's General Body.

In contrast, retired state government staff who refuse to vacate official quarters are charged a little more than they would pay while in service, for the first six months after retirement. Beyond that, they are told to pay rent at market rates.