Maha CM, Guv hand over keys of sea-facing quarters to staff

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today unveiled the newly constructed 14-storey building 'Raj Bhavan Sankul' at Raj Bhavan here.
Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao was present as the Chief Minister handed over symbolic keys of the sea-facing flats to one Group C and one Group D employee.
The highrise building equipped with two lifts has 63 flats. While 43 one bedroom-hall-kitchen (BHK) flats on the first nine floors, all measuring 360 sq ft, have been allotted to Group D employees, including gardeners, sweepers, kitchen and other support staff.
20 flats from 10th to 14th floors, all measuring 490 sq ft and having 2- or 1-BHK have been given to Group C employees, which include the clerical staff.

So impressed was Chief Minister to watch the sea-view offered by a 14-storey flat given to a Raj Bhavan employee, that he jokingly told Governor Vidyasagar Rao,"Sir, I want to shift here from 'Varsha' - the official residence of the Chief Minister".
Until 2007, all the Group D employees of Raj Bhavan were living in old chawls in small rooms having a common toilet and bathroom on each floor.

In 2004, the then Governor late Mohammed Fazal asked the then Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde to demolish the dilapidated chawls and create a single tower to provide a decent, 360 sq ft houses to the each of the employees.

On July 17, 2004, the foundation stone of the first wing of the high rise building was laid by Fazal in presence of Shinde. Construction of the A wing of the building was completed in 2011.
On May 10, 2011, then Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and Governor K Sankaranarayanan unveiled the A Wing of the highrise building.
The A-Wing has 68 housing units all having an area of 360 sq ft.
With the completion of the B Wing of the highrise building, the two wings will now accommodate a total of 131 employees.
The cost of construction of the B-Wing, including the expenses of civil and electrical work, came to Rs 19.15 crore.