NEW DELHI: A day after holding a press conference over the controversy surrounding Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on the extravagant amount he allegedly spent on the renovation of his official residence, the Congress on Monday released a letter written to L-G VK Saxena detailing the rules bypassed by the government to authorise the expansion of CM’s residential complex.
In the letter, Congress spokesperson Ajay Maken said that the renovation work has been in violation of the Master Plan of Delhi 2021, environment rules, bypassing bureaucracy channels and procurement procedures.
“The new CM House has been constructed in the Civil Lines Old Bungalow Zone, an area protected under MPD 2021. The previous residence was a single-storey colonial-style building, which has been replaced by a three-storey structure with a basement with a covered area of around 20,000 sq feet, almost double the previous area. This construction contradicts the MPD 2021 provisions, which aims to preserve the heritage of Lutyens Bungalow Zone and Civil Lines Old Bungalow Zone,” he said.
He added that the construction process led to the removal of 28 full-grown trees, which goes against The Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994. Maken said that permission for the removal of trees was obtained on 5 separate occasions to avoid approval from the Department of Forests and Wildlife. “This tactic was employed to avoid seeking approval from the Competent Authority, which is required for felling/transplanting 10 or more trees,” he said.
The former Union minister also said that the work orders were kept under `10 crore with the intent to avoid approval of the Secretary/Principal Secretary, PWD. Works involving costs beyond `10 crore demand approval from the secretary of the department.
Maken alleged that tendering procedures were deviated with the intent of providing undue favour to the contractor. “Instead of undertaking works through open e-tender, certain sanctions were given for execution of work without any tender,” he said.
Congress said the total cost incurred on the CM’s bungalow is `171 crore. “Apart from `45 crore, `126 crore was spent on the expansion of its premises by vacating four adjacent residential complexes and compensating inhabitants with 21 flats in CWG Village,” Maken said.