New Delhi: Along with resigning from the post of Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal will also have to vacate his government residence, which was dubbed as his "Sheesh Mahal" by the BJP.
According to information, Kejriwal will vacate his government accomodation at 6 Flag Staff Road in Civil Lines within a week. Notably, Kejriwal's accomodation had been mired with controversies for the last few years.
A probe into the alleged irregularities of spending about Rs 45 crore over renovation of the residence is underway on the orders of the Lieutenant Governor, who had sought a detailed information from the then Chief Secretary and asked him to keep all the documents safe.
Rs 45 crore spent on beautification of government residence: Last year, a big disclosure was made regarding the CM's government bungalow. It was said that Rs 45 crore has been spent in the name of its beautification. The Opposition had cornered the government over the issue.
According to a senior official of the Public Works Department (PWD) of the Delhi government, this was not beautification, a new house was built in place of the old structure and his camp office is also there. Around Rs 45 crore was spent for the entire work.
The PWD had also submitted a report in this regard after the audit. According to which, a total of Rs 44.78 crore was spent on Kejriwal's government residence at 6 Flag Staff Road in Civil Lines against the sanctioned amount of Rs 43.70 crore.
The government residence was constructed in 1970: It was told that the structure is 70 to 80 years old and according to PWD records, this house was constructed in 1970 for serving as the residence of a Chief Secretary level officer of the Delhi Government.
Kejriwal took a flat after becoming the Chief Minister: In 2013, when Kejriwal became the Chief Minister of Delhi for the first time, he wanted only a small flat in the name of government residence. But in February 2015, when his government was formed with a huge majority in Delhi, he chose this bungalow located at 6 Flag Staff Road, Civil Lines as his official bungalow.
According to BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor, in front of common people, Kejriwal behaves as if he belongs to the lower class by wearing slippers, ordinary clothes and keeping a cheap pen in his pocket.
Claims of installing carpets worth lakhs of rupees and curtains worth crores of rupees: It is claimed that carpets worth lakhs of rupees and curtains worth crores of rupees have been installed in the luxurious bungalow. Stones have been ordered from Vietnam and the swimming pool is such that there will be only a very few such pools in Delhi.
According to PWD report, the construction work for the government residence allotted in the name of the Chief Minister was issued from September 9, 2020 to June 2022.
Of the total expenditure, Rs 11.30 crore was spent on interior decoration, Rs 6.02 crore on the use of stone and marble, Rs 1 crore for interior consultancy, Rs 2.58 crore on electrical fittings and equipment, Rs 2.85 crore on fire fighting system and Rs 1.41 crore on wardrobe accessories setting. Kejriwal's bungalow has two kitchens, the construction of which involved an expenditure of Rs 1.1 crore.
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