BENGALURU: Six months after he was elected as chairman of the Legislative Council, JDS MLC Basavaraj Horatti is yet to be allotted an official residence in Bengaluru. The senior-most member of the council continues to stay in Legislators’ Home (LH). Horatti told TNIE that he has been using the LH as his official residence.
There is no designated residence for the Council chairman. Past chairmen, including Pratap Chandra Shetty and D H Shankaramurthy, were allotted accommodation near Gandhi Bhavan. “It has been six months since I got elected. I have written several letters to the authorities concerned, including former CM B S Yediyurappa, former Law Minister Basavaraj Bommai, and the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms officials. But nothing has been done so far,” he rued.
“As Council chairman, I get many visitors. I cannot ask them to visit me at the Legislators’ Home. It will cause disturbance to others. I, therefore, tell them to come to my chamber in Vidhana Soudha,” he pointed out. There are, however, restrictions on entering the Vidhana Soudha. The seven-time MLC represents the Karnataka West Teachers’ constituency and was elected chairman of the Council in February.
Sources in the DPAR said that most of the bungalows are occupied by ministers. Two of the bungalows are occupied by Jagadish Shettar and C P Yogeeshwara, who were ministers in the Yediyurappa Cabinet. “They are yet to vacate. We give the occupants two months’ time to vacate. The file related to allotting accommodation for Horatti is before the CM... it is left to him to allot,” an official said.
There are 23 government bungalows in Bengaluru that are allotted to the Chief Minister, cabinet ministers, Opposition leaders, judges and top government executives. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai was allotted an official residence - #1, Race View Cottage - on Race Course Road recently, nearly 20 days after assuming office.
The Karnataka CM has no designated residence in the state capital. Over the years, however, CMs have either occupied ‘Cauvery’ or ‘Anugraha’ or bungalows elsewhere. Former CM B S Yediyurappa continues to use ‘Cauvery’ on Kumara Krupa Road as his official residence. According to sources, there is a shortage of houses for those holding Constitutional posts in the city.