MPs, Former Ministers Ask For Time To Vacate Bungalows At Lutyens' Delhi

The ministers and MPs who lose the election, need to vacate their houses within one month. While the directorate of the estate under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is responsible for providing accommodation to Union Ministers, the MPs are allotted houses from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha accommodation pools.

New Delhi: Following the expiry of the one-month timeline to vacate their accommodations, several MPs and a few former ministers requested the Directorate of the Estate (DoE) and Lok Sabha House Committee for some more time to vacate their bungalows in Lutyens’ Delhi.

According to the rules, former MPs and former ministers need to vacate their respective bungalows within one month of the dissolution of the previous Lok Sabha.

On Thursday, former Union Minister Smriti Irani, who lost the last election, vacated her house from Lutyens’ Delhi. Interestingly, the 18th Lok Sabha has 280 first-time MPs, all of whom will have their bungalows in Delhi.

While the Directorate of Estate (DoE) under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is responsible for providing accommodation to Union Ministers, the MPs are allotted houses from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha accommodation pool, according to their seniority.

Till the MPs get such accommodation, the Central government provides them with transit accommodation in the state bhavans and government-owned hotels. “We also provide accommodation to the MPs at western court and other places in Delhi. The government will pay for their accommodation till the allotment of an accommodation,” a senior official in the housing ministry told ETV Bharat.

All Union Ministers and Ministers of State are entitled to a ‘Type VIII’ bungalow in Delhi’s Lutyens’. According to the rules, former ministers and MPs, who have lost their ministerial berths, have to vacate the accommodation within one month after the formation of the new government. On June 19, notices were served to all former ministers to vacate the property.

The official said that show cause notice will be served on those who fail to vacate the bungalow within the limited period. All the new ministers, including Manohar Lal Khattar, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and others, will have type VIII bungalows in Delhi.

“This time, however, there may not be any major issue in accommodating bungalows following the fact that several of the previous ministers have been reappointed,” the official added.