In-House politics

Because they are so coveted as official residences, the sprawling bungalows in Lutyens' Delhi are often used by the government as leverage for political advantages and to reward loyalists

 

Almost a month after assuming office as chief minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal is yet to move into a humble flat allotted to him on Tilak Lane. He had earlier rejected a spacious five-bedroom duplex flat on Bhagwan Dass Road, which itself had been selected after his aam aadmi credentials prevented him from occupying a sprawling 8,000 sq ft bungalow with five bedrooms, huge back and front lawns and ample parking space to which he was entitled. With his demand for a downsized chief ministerial abode, Kejriwal threw the capital’s officialdom into disarray, because most houses in both the Union and state government’s pools have lengthy lists of claimants. People familiar with the system say the allotment policy is as opaque and as political as the life that goes on behind these bungalows.

The spacious bungalow (designated a Type VIII house — houses are categorised as ‘types’ depending on their size, a Type VIII being one with living area of 3,700-5,600 sq ft) is the most sought-after in the localities that bear the name of Edwin Lutyens, the architect of central Delhi. Indeed, the 7,000-acre area in which these British-built complexes stand is called the Lutyens’ Bungalow Zone, and the white, single-floor houses are often referred to as ‘power bungalows’. Kejriwal rejected one such, but there aren’t many others who would.

Till a month ago, the waiting list for 108 Type VIII and 212 Type VII bungalows showed 112 and 122 hopefuls, respectively. For the smaller Type VI flats, the sort in which Kejriwal will finally live as chief minister and normally meant for the use of joint secretaries and officials of equivalent rank, the waiting period is up to three years. People entitled to houses smaller than these have to wait for 10 to 15 years.

The house on Tilak Lane being spruced up for Kejriwal's use

No wonder, there is hectic lobbying, tantrums and machinations by those who want to jump the queue and take possession of the bungalows. A former Central Vigilance Commissioner is even believed to have started a vigilance inquiry against the Directorate of Estate, a wing under the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) responsible for bungalow allocations, to prod the officials into giving him a fancied dwelling. The CVC in question, of course, denies he did anything of the sort. The Directorate of Estates allots the top bungalows to ministers, Supreme Court and Delhi High Court judges, high-ranking bureaucrats and heads of commissions, tribunals and constitutional bodies. For parliamentarians, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha secretariats allocate bungalows and flats from a separate pool.

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So coveted are the bungalows that the government often leverages them for political advantages. According to The Indian Express, in 2012, the Cabinet Committee on Accommodation (CCA), then headed by Union minister and Congress’ trouble shooter Kamal Nath, cleared within a day Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati’s plea for the use of three adjoining bungalows on Gurudwara Rakabganj Road as Kanshi Ram Memorial. The daily reported that Mayawati asked for allocation of the bungalows on December 4, 2012, a day before the Lok Sabha discussed allowing foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail. The following day, the Bahujan Samaj Party abstained from voting, helping the ruling coalition pass the measure in the House. Two days later, Mayawati’s party voted with the government in the Rajya Sabha, despite having announced its opposition to FDI in multi-brand retail.

Similarly, last month the Union government allocated a prime bungalow on 6, Krishna Menon Marg to a trust with links to the family of Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar. The bungalow had been occupied by her late father, Babu Jagjivan Ram. Kumar was allocated the same house after she became a member of Parliament, but as Lok Sabha Speaker, she now lives in the designated house on Akbar Road. “Regularisation of this bungalow as a memorial is in direct violation of the cabinet note of 2000 and Supreme Court verdict of May 5, 2013, both of which prohibit conversion of government bungalow in the Lutyens’ zone into memorials,” alleges Subash Chandra Agrawal, a Right to Information activist. An urban development ministry official pleads that the cabinet note was regarding memorials, while the 6 Krishna Menon Marg bungalow was given to a trust.

Just as they hanker after these bungalows, occupants are often as reluctant to vacate them. Rentals are, of course, a big incentive. Occupants of the topmost Type VIII bungalow with its lawns, servant quarters, driveway, garage and a rambling house, pay Rs 3,875 per month as licence fee. They are no longer entitled to house rent allowance, but were they to lease a house with equivalent floor space and amenities in the open market, they would presumably be shelling out upward of Rs 2 lakh a month as rent. Officials claim that around 50 of these fancy quarters are currently under the illegal occupation of politicians, Indian Administrative Service officers and others. Although, the numbers could not be verified independently, media reports also suggest that the chief ministers of Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh are among the illegal retainers of houses they were allocated as cabinet ministers in the Union government on Race Course Road and Jantar Mantar Road, respectively.

The current policy has no provision for housing for chief ministers in the capital and they are expected to stay in their respective state bhavans during visits to Delhi. Each state gets six, and Union territory three, residences of up to Type VI for their officials and staff working in the national capital. “The exception to the two chief ministers was allowed by CCA against the allocated state quota,” claims a Directorate of Estates official. “These states will continue to get six houses, but of them one is of a higher category they have reserved for the chief minister.”

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The Supreme Court too has had its bungalow moments. Last year the Supreme Court came down hard on the ministry for allotting a house to a member of the Union Public Service Commission rather than to a retired judge, who was heading one of the many tribunals. Referring to urban development secretary Sudhir Krishna, the court, according to The Indian Express, observed: “We will show the secretary his right place. We are taking it very seriously. When a number of judges are already in the queue and waiting for allotment of residential accommodation, you allot it to a UPSC member only because he can dance to your tunes.”

The ministry official pleads helplessness in such cases. “Every year, the government increases the number of tribunals, commissions and autonomous bodies. There currently are more than two dozen tribunals. We are apprehensive because Parliament has cleared the setting up of the Lokayukta,” the official says, “and most of the Lokayukta positions will be filled by retired Supreme Court judges.”

The politics of allocations is not limited to judges and politicians. Those who are close to the urban development minister or the Prime Minister’s Office apparently get their favoured lodgings with ease, while others have to remain content with the lower Type VII houses. Fortunately, top secretaries heading departments like the cabinet, home, defence and external affairs have bungalows earmarked for their use. For others, it is often a question of power networking. “It  has happened in the past that officials of the rank of joint secretary and additional secretaries have got Type VIII bungalows because of their proximity to the right people. Even a former chairman and managing director of the Indian Airlines was extended this courtesy,” says M Ramachandran, former secretary of the urban development ministry.

Prized allocations are those for the bungalows on Ashoka Road and Safdarjung Road because these are not only centrally located but have huge lawns that can accommodate over 500 people. Others vie for homes on Krishna Menon Marg, Tughlak Road, Moti Lal Nehru Marg and even the newly built New Moti Bagh, which have less expansive lawns..