After almost four months Rekha Gupta was named as the Chief Minister (CM) of Delhi by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on February 19, she was finally allotted her official residence on Plot No 8, Raj Niwas Marg, Civil Lines, North Delhi, according to an allotment letter issued by the public works department (PWD) on June 5, Hindustan Times reported.
Officials aware of the matter said among the four bungalows on this plot, Gupta is being allotted bungalow numbers 1 and 2. Meanwhile, bungalow numbers 3 and 4 are with deputy speaker Mohan Singh Bisht and social welfare minister Ravinder Indraj Singh, respectively.
“Bungalow number 1 was being used for the LG’s secretariat which is being vacated as of now. Bungalow number 2 was earlier allocated to MLA Abhay Verma but he also decided to surrender it after which it has been allocated to the CM,” PWD official quoted by the HT.
Officials further told the HT that the bungalows follow the home ministry guidelines on allocation of residential accommodation as the CM has been given Z-level security.
“There are specific criteria that we need to follow like the number of entry and exits, an open congregation area for events (like a lawn), segregated residential and office space, segregated servant quarters etc,” said the official.
As per the report, the CM visited at least 7-8 properties on DDU Marg, Civil Lines and also considered some from the central pool before finalising these two bungalows. She is currently staying at her family home in her constituency, Shalimar Bagh.
The CM’s office did not respond to queries on the allocation. “Bungalows are usually shortlisted from our residential pool. These are offered to the CM and she may visit the houses to finalise the one she seems fit. The finalised house is then approved and allocated through the General Administration Department (GAD). Following due process, the allocation has been made,” another PWD official quoted by the HT.
Gupta, as well as other BJP leaders, had declared that she would not live at 6, Flagstaff Road, Arvind Kejriwal’s official residence when he was CM. Dubbed “Sheeshmahal” by the BJP and other political parties and held up as a symbol of corruption, the bungalow is the subject of a probe over excessive expenditure by the vigilance department.
The first two of three chief ministers of Delhi — Brahm Prakash and Madan Lal Khurana — were allotted 33, Shamnath Marg. However, after they seemed to have suffered “bad luck”, succeeding chief ministers stayed away. Delhi’s longest serving chief minister , Congress leader Sheila Dikshit, stayed at the much smaller residence at AB-17, Mathura Road, for much of her three terms.The Shamnath Marg house was also allocated to Aam Aadmi Party’s Atishi but she preferred to stay at her private house in Kalkaji, the report added.
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