6, Flag Staff Road bungalow… which was once the home of former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and was used as a weapon by the BJP to target the Aam Aadmi Party in the Delhi Assembly elections by calling it 'Sheesh Mahal'. Now the new government of Delhi is considering converting the same bungalow into Delhi State Guest House to host government functions and to accommodate visiting bureaucrats. There is currently no state guest house in Delhi. Earlier, 33 Shamnath Marg was converted into a state guest house for a few months after Madan Lal Khurana left the post of Chief Minister in 1996. Since then, Delhi has not got any such facility.
This Type VIII bungalow in north Delhi's Civil Lines area was the place where Arvind Kejriwal lived as chief minister for nearly nine years, but now the Delhi government has proposed to convert the bungalow into a state guest house, ET reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The Delhi government has proposed that the property be kept open for DANICS (Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli (Civil) Services) officers who visit the capital for work or for official functions like signing MoUs.
According to the report, a senior official said on the condition of anonymity, "There is no question of changing the grand bungalow from its original form. The money of the government treasury has been spent on it." However, the final decision on this will be taken by the new cabinet.
Earlier, BJP state president Virendra Sachdeva had written a letter to Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena earlier this week to separate the bungalows, which were merged with the 6, Flag Staff Road bungalow to form a large property of more than 20,000 square meters. He had made it clear that the new Chief Minister will not live in this bungalow.
According to government records, eight Type-V flats at 45 and 47 Rajpur Road, along with two government bungalows (8-A and 8-B Flag Staff Road), were merged with the 6, Flagstaff Road bungalow. The Cabinet will also decide on whether these bungalows will be separated from 6 Flag Staff Road.
