Sources in the Urban Affairs Ministry say that the Directorate of Estates has objected to her request on the grounds that as Delhi Chief Minister, Dixit is not entitled to a house under the general pool accommodation of the Central ministry.

The officials are reportedly of the view that the Delhi Chief Minister already has a designated official residence which belongs to and is maintained by the Delhi Government. According to the rules governing allotment of ministerial bungalows, only union ministers or those of equivalent rank are eligible for such accommodation.

The rules do, however, make an exception. Dixit's request for a house in the serene surroundings of Lutyens's Zone can apparently be acceded to if an inter-pool exchange is made between ahouse under the central government and that under the Delhi Government. This in effect means that the Delhi Government will have to surrender a bungalow in its custody to the central pool in exchange for one from the latter.

Ministry officials have reportedly left the decision on Dixit's request to the Minister of State for Urban Affairs Bandaru Dattatreya, who looks after matters relating to the Directorate of Estates.

The official residence of the Delhi Chief Minister at 22, Shamnath Marg belongs to the Delhi Government housing pool. The house was first occupied by Madan Lal Khurana when he was Chief Minister but his successor, Sahib Singh Verma, decided not to move in, apparently because the house was said to be ``jinxed.''

Verma, during his two-year stint as Delhi CM, stayed on at the house allotted to him as Delhi Education Minister (27, Shamnath Marg) and converted the CM's official residence into a guest-house.

The official CM house has been serving as a guest-house since and Dixit's immediatepredecessor, Sushma Swaraj, chose to continue in the house allotted to her as Union Information and Broadcasting Minister, during the short while she was Delhi Chief Minister.

A similar problem had arisen a couple of years back over the accomodation of the Delhi Lt. Governor, during the tenure of P.K. Dave. While the official accommodation of the LG is at the Raj Niwas, the then LG was allotted a house in Lutyens's Delhi, on Moti Lal Nehru Marg, following an inter-pool exchange of houses.

The LG, at present, stays in the Lutyens's Zone and if Dixit's request is acceded to, both the LG and the CM of Delhi would be staying away from their official residences.