NEW DELHI: Delhi BJP on Monday alleged that the construction cost of the Chief Minister’s bungalow, listed at Rs 33.66 crore, is only a small figure, and the actual cost is beyond estimation. The opposition party stated that to estimate the true cost of the bungalow, an audit of several departments' accounts is required, along with the inventory created by PWD on October 11, 2024. This, they claimed, would reveal that Kejriwal’s residence was constructed illegally at a cost of approximately Rs 75-80 crore.
“Ignoring all regulations, the then CM and officials raised the cost from Rs 7.91 crore to Rs 8.62 crore, and later inflated it by 342% to Rs 33.66 crore, as reflected in the documents presented to the CAG. To get an accurate figure, the inventory created for Arvind Kejriwal’s bungalow, which has never been presented to the CAG, must be included,” said Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva on Monday.
He added that the first clear revelation from the CAG report regarding the Sheesh Mahal is that, under Kejriwal’s government, PWD, which should function as a government agency, operated like a private institution for the CM. “It is worth noting that the way PWD officials broke every rule and law to construct this Sheesh Mahal makes it clear that this is a case of corruption based on a 'give and take' arrangement. It is certain that the Chief Minister and relevant ministers must have turned a blind eye to several corruption instances involving officers in this manner,” he said.
He also mentioned that the initial estimate for additions and alterations to the bungalow was Rs 7.91 crore. The PWD inexplicably declared this an emergency project and issued the work order on September 1, 2020, while the rest of the population was struggling with the impact of COVID-19, with employment stalled.