Explained: The controversy surrounding Arvind Kejriwal’s bungalow renovation

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has gone on the defensive after reports emerged of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) asking the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India to hold a special audit into alleged irregularities and violations in the renovation of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s official bungalow. Hitting out at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre, the AAP said the move “reeks of desperation” as the saffron party “anticipates a defeat” in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. These sharp remarks come after the Union home ministry called for a CAG audit following Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena’s recommendation.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India is conducting a 'special audit' into the alleged administrative and financial irregularities in the renovation of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s official residence at 6, Flag Staff Road Civil Lines. The move follows a request by the…

— ANI (@ANI) June 27, 2023

Let’s take a closer look at the controversy. Delhi LG’s allegations  According to Indian Express, in a letter dated 24 May, the LG Secretariat underscored “gross and prima facie financial irregularities” in the reconstruction of the Delhi chief minister’s official residence “in the name of “addition/alteration” recorded in a “factual report” on the matter. In the letter, the LG said that, as per the Delhi chief secretary’s report, the Public Works Department (PWD) carried out “deviations/violations” while renovating Kejriwal’s Civil Lines residence, reported India Today.  The chief secretary’s report alleges that “in the name of renovation (addition/alteration)”, “full-fledged construction/re-construction of a new building” was carried out by the PWD.

It further says that the initial cost for construction work was between Rs 15-20 crore, but this was “inflated from time-to-time” to approximately Rs 53 crore.

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“To avoid obtaining approval from the competent authority for felling/transplantation of more than 10 trees as per the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, split approvals were taken five times,” India Today cited the chief secretary’s report as saying. Delhi vigilance department’s notice to PWD officers Last week, the Vigilance Department issued a show cause notice to seven PWD engineers alleging “wasteful expenditure” of around Rs 53 crore on the renovation of Kejriwal’s government bungalow. Citing Ministers’ Residences (Amendment) Rules 2007, the notice said the Delhi chief minister is eligible for residences below Type VIII accommodation. It also asked these PWD engineers to explain why the old building at 6, Flagstaff Road in Civil Lines was “demolished without survey report and why no building plans were sanctioned for the new building constructed by the PWD”, reported Indian Express. According to ThePrint, the Delhi vigilance department’s 12 May report to LG Saxena alleged a total of Rs 33.49 crore was spent on revamping the chief minister’s house, while Rs 19.22 crore was the cost for the camp office. These expenses include more than a crore worth of fancy modular kitchen items, designer accessories and fittings amounting to Rs 48 lakh, artistic and ornamental work costing Rs 5 crore, marble work worth Rs 2.4 crore and sauna bath and jacuzzi worth Rs 20 lakh, ThePrint reported in May. BJP, Congress attack AAP Referring to the show cause notice by the vigilance department to seven PWD engineers, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva claimed Kejriwal’s renovated bungalow is much “bigger” than what he is eligible for as the chief minister of a Union Territory. “We want to know who asked the PWD to carry out renovations and expansion of the CM bungalow without any proper tender and budgetary provisions.” “The PWD had initially issued a proposal only for the renovation and beautification of the bungalow, but they constructed an entirely new bungalow,” the Delhi BJP leader said on 20 June, as per PTI. [caption id=“attachment_12797242” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Bidhuri called Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal a “luxurious king” earlier. PTI File Photo[/caption] Earlier in April, the BJP had slammed Kejriwal over the expenses incurred on the renovation work of what they called his “palace”. “ Arvind Kejriwal is an example of the heights of both luxury and the open loot of public money… A total number of 22 TVs were bought for his palace including 13 measuring 85 inches, five of 55 inches and five of 43 inches, which together cost Rs 1.42 crore; six people, including his parents, in a house with 22 TVs installed with the public’s hard-earned money,” BJP leader Harish Khurana was quoted as saying by Indian Express. Dubbing Kejriwal a “luxurious king” at the time, Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Bidhuri demanded the chief minister’s resignation. “When Delhi was struggling with COVID, the CM of Delhi was spending crores on getting his house renovated. In 2013, he used to say he will neither take a house, security or official vehicle. But he ended up spending Rs 45 crore on renovation of his house,” the BJP leader said, as per Indian Express.  The Opposition parties in Delhi further ramped up the political clamour with Congress training its guns at Kejriwal. In May, Congress’ Ajay Maken claimed the revamping of the Delhi chief minister’s bungalow cost a whopping Rs 171 crore and not Rs 45 crore. “There are four buildings around Kejriwal’s house which house 22 officers. Since the renovation began, these flats are being vacated for the expansion of Kejriwal’s bungalow. Now, to accommodate the officers, the government bought 21 type-5 flats at Commonwealth Village at the cost of Rs 6 crore each. This money comes from the state exchequer and this should be added to expenditure made for the CM’s bungalow,” the Congress leader alleged, according to Hindustan Times (HT). ALSO READ: Why is AAP at loggerheads with Centre over ‘services’ ordinance in Delhi? AAP’s response The AAP has repeatedly denied the accusations of financial irregularities. In a statement today (27 June), the party attacked the Narendra Modi-led BJP government over the CAG probe.  “This move by the Modi government reeks of desperation as the BJP anticipates an inevitable defeat in the upcoming 2024 general elections. As far as the CAG inquiry into the reconstruction expenses of the Chief Minister’s residence, it is important to note that it was already conducted last year, revealing no evidence of financial irregularities,” the party said, as per PTI.

CAG inquiry into reconstruction expenses at CM's residence already conducted last year; no evidence of irregularities found: AAP

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 27, 2023

Earlier in April, AAP MP Raghav Chadha acknowledged Rs 45 crore was spent on the renovation work of the Delhi chief minister’s residence but noted it was a necessary expenditure, according to a Mint report. He said the renovation work was done following an audit by the PWD.

The AAP said the decades-old building was in a “dilapidated state”.

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“The roof of the room where Kejriwal’s parents were staying caved in, then the same thing happened in Kejriwal’s room and the room where Kejriwal meets people”, AAP leader Sanjay Singh said at the time. The AAP had also pointed to the amount spent by other governments on similar projects. “The estimate for the new Prime Minister’s sprawling house alone is Rs 467 crore, while the actual cost of the Central Vista project is estimated to be Rs 20,000 crore. Further, the renovation cost of the PM’s 7 RCR residence was three times the estimate. Just renovation was carried out at a whopping Rs 89 crore against an estimated cost of Rs 27 crore,” the party said in a statement in April, as per Indian Express. “Repair work of Delhi LG house alone has cost Rs 15 crore in the past few months… BJP is raising this non-issue only to divert attention from real issues,” it further alleged. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News,  India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.