Days after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was exposed for spending around Rs 45 crores on ‘renovation’ of his residence at Flagstaff road, Civil Lines area in Delhi, it has come to fore that the Kejriwal not only wants an expensive bungalow but also wants an expansive one. The Chief Minister of Delhi has decided to expand his present residence which is spread in 4.7 acres to 7.3 acres and the government has also issued eviction notices issued to the government officials including IAS officials and judges in the 2.6 acres of land located on the Rajpur road and Flagstaff road in Delhi, next to the existing CM’s residence.
According to the reports, the government has occupied 2 bungalows and 8 flats built next to the Chief Minister’s residence and is planning to merge the said properties into the CM’s residence. Reportedly, the decision regarding this expansion was taken in the Cabinet on July 28, 2021 and the notices were immediately issued to the residents of 2 bungalows and 8 flats to vacate the properties in August 2021.
The bungalows which have been vacated for building a CM complex, are situated on Flagstaff Road and the flats which are vacated are on Rajpur Road. According to a Times Now report, the construction of the expansion project has already begun and the government officials residing in the 2 bungalows and 8 flats have been shifted to other locations.
#OperationSheeshMahal
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) April 28, 2023
Times Now has accessed eviction notices served to IAS officers & judges residing in 2 bungalows & 8 flats which were reportedly being razed to turn the CM mansion into a Chief Ministerial complex: @DEKAMEGHNA explains details of #AAP's plans@aakaaanksha pic.twitter.com/Kk2ToEmm09
The flats were allotted to KS Sherawat, now shifted to CWG Games Village, IAS officer Neha Bansal, now shifted to Court lane, Gurdeep Singh, now shifted to 17/6 Rajpur Road, Charu Agarwal, now shifted to 33/25 Rajpur Road, Vinod Kumar, now shifted to CWG Games Village and Ramesh Kumar, now shifted to CWG Games Village. Two flats were unoccupied when the eviction notice was issued. The flats with numbers 45/1 through 45/8 were given notices to leave.
Apart from the 8 flats, notices were also issued to vacate 2 bungalows on Flagstaff road, 8-A and 8-B. The occupant of 8-A has already shifted to another place.
According to the plan, the massive residential complex will come on a triangular plot surrounded by Flagstaff road, Rajpur Road and a lane connecting the two roads.
The projected larger Chief Ministerial Complex will include facilities like badminton court, sports area, swimming pool and garden among others. Recently, it was exposed how Delhi CM spent Rs 45 crores of taxpayers money to ‘renovate’ his residence. Kejriwal selected a curtain design costing Rs 7,94,000 per piece for his residence and ordered 23 such curtain pieces. He also ordered ‘Deor Pearl Marble’, known for its superior quality for Rs 3.30 crores. The said amount was used to buy the marble and polish it. Additionally, Rs 21,60,000 was spent on the chemical adhesive used to fix the marble.
Further, the Chief Minister ordered 6 hand-crafted wool carpets for a total of Rs 20 lakhs. Rs 63 lakhs were spent on renovating two kitchens and Rs 4 crores were spent on wall paneling. Additionally, another Rs 40 lakhs were spent on redoing the wardrobes and dressers in his room, his parents, and also the bedrooms of his two children.
Delhi CM spent an additional Rs 1 lakh each for 24 decorated pillars installed in his house. Further, he is also said to have spent Rs 88 lakhs for smart lighting along with Rs 2.16 crores for artistic, and ornamental work and Rs 41 lakhs for superior wooden doors and automatic sliding glass doors.
#OperationSheeshMahal | Welcome to Delhi CM's SheeshMahal!
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) April 27, 2023
Rs 88 lakhs of smart lighting, along with Rs 2.16 crores of artistic, ornamental work & Rs 41 lakhs of superior wooden doors & automatic sliding glass doors- Here's all you can find inside CM's residence.@PadmajaJoshi pic.twitter.com/ird8qiR1ot
It is worth noting that last year, the Delhi CM also used several crores of taxpayer’s money to construct a swimming pool inside his residence. It was also said that Kejriwal had got the pool modelled as per the standards of luxury Maldives hotels.
The renovation work undertaken at the Delhi CM’s home has been criticised by the BJP. The opposition party in Delhi stated that when Delhi was struggling with Covid, CM of Delhi was spending crores on getting his house renovated. The BJP also demanded Delhi CM’s resignation over this issue.
Further, the Congress also attacked the AAP saying that despite naming his party ‘Aam Aadmi Party’ (common man’s party) and making these pledges, Kejriwal spent a fortune on his bungalow when the people of Delhi were desperately seeking oxygen cylinders during the Covid pandemic.
Hitting back at the criticisms, the AAP responded by saying that the amount spent on renovation had to be seen in the context of the amount spent by other governments on similar projects. Also, AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh claimed that Delhi CM’s official residence was built in 1942 and the roof had collapsed thrice. “Following the roof collapse incidents, the Public Works Department (PWD) suggested a new house be built and this was done,” he said.
The AAP also blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ‘wasting’ taxpayer’s money. “The estimate for the new Prime Minister’s sprawling house alone is Rs 467 crore, while the actual cost of the Central Vista project is estimated to be Rs 20,000 crore. Further, the renovation cost of the PM’s 7 RCR residence was three times the estimate. Just renovation was carried out at a whopping Rs 89 crore against an estimated cost of Rs 27 crore,” the party had said in its statement.
However, now it has come to the fore that the Chief Minister is planning to expand his residence into a huge massive CM’s residential complex by acquiring 2 bungalows and 8 flats in the nearby vicinity.
