Under Jagmohan's nose, colleagues throw rulebook out of window

Under Jagmohan's nose, colleagues throw rulebook out of window
SWATI CHATURVEDI

NEW DELHI, JULY 9: One of them has added three halls and a dining room to his house, another has made a kitchen in the verandah. These are not your neighbours in DDA flats, they are in fact, Union Minister for Urban Development Jagmohan's ministerial colleagues.

As the minister goes ahead with campaign to demolish additional structures in DDA colonies, illegal structures in Lutyens' Delhi make a mockery of the law. Though the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has reported every single alteration and violation in the Lutyens' Bungalow Zone (LBZ) to the Directorate of Estates of the Ministry, no action has been taken against the violators.

Union Minister for Power P.R. Kumaramangalam has changed the main entrance of his house 30, Aurangzeb Road, ostensibly for vastu reasons. He has also constructed two small rooms in the Government bungalow. Contacted by The Indian Express, Kuamaramanglam admitted that he had only shifted the main gate but didn't need to do much more since the earlier occupant had already made the rest of the house vastu-friendly. He said: ``Once I moved in here, I spent Rs 5 lakh out of my own pocket for renovations. As far as the room is concerned, all I have done is to have a 3-ft-by-3-ft veranda covered with a roof.'' The CPWD has, however, reported the construction of two small rooms in a report sent recently to the Directorate of Estates.

At his 15 Lodhi Estate house, Minister of State for Railways Digvijay Singh has added three rooms and an extra dining hall. An office block has also been obligingly constructed for him by the Railway authorities and another by the CPWD. Singh, however, claims that he has only built ``temporary structures which will be removed.'' Says a CPWD official: ``Every occupant of a DDA flat who is watching his unauthorised constructions being demolished can also claim the same.''

Labor Minister S.N. Jatiya has added rooms to his 4, Kushak Road house and despite the CPWD reporting every room as ``unauthorised'' no action has been taken. The Minister was not available for comments.

At the 1, Tyagraj Marg residence of Sunder Lal Patwa, minister for rural development, he had built a kitchen in what used to be the veranda for ``vastu reasons.'' He also converted a bathroom into a room. I.D. Swami, minister of state for home, has also made several `vastu' changes in his home at 23, Tuglak Road. His neighbor at 7, Tuglak Road Sharad Yadav, minister for civil aviation, has also built an unauthorised room in his residence.

V. Patil, minister of state for finance, has added three rooms and got an office block constructed in his residence at 24, Gurudwara Rakabganj road. Patil too was not available for comments.

Promod Mahajan, minister of parliamentary affairs, has a minor violation listed against his name, which is raising the wall of his bungalow at 7, Safdarjung Road to eight feet.

Under the rules no structural changes are allowed in the LBZ and all changes in the LBZ have to be cleared by the Prime Minister's Office and ministers are not allowed to spend more than Rs 1 lakh on renovation with Rs 40,000 earmarked for furniture during their entire tenure.

Know these illegal builders

P.R. Kumaramangalam, 30 Aurangzeb Road
Digvijay Singh, 15 Lodhi Estate
V. Patil, 24 Gurudwara Rakabganj road
S.N. Jatiya, 4 Kushak Road
Sunderlal Patwa, 1, Tyagraj Marg
Pramod Mahajan, 7, Safdarjung Road
Sharad Yadav, 7, Tuglak Road
I.D. Swami, 23, Tuglak Road