Delhi govt spent ₹45cr to refurbish Kejriwal’s official house

The details of the spends created a buzz on Tuesday evening, but the AAP said that the house was in bad shape and that it remained government property

The Delhi government spent around ₹44.78 crore refurbishing the official residence of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal between 2020 and 2022, with the money going on imported marble, plush interiors, electrical fixtures, and high-end kitchen equipment, documents seen by HT showed.

he entrance to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's official residence in Civil Lines on Tuesday. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTOT)

The details of the spends created a buzz on Tuesday evening, but the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said  that the house was in bad shape and that it remained government property. It also sought to compare the amount spent with that spent on housing for other leaders, including the residential complex being developed for the Prime Minister as part of the new Central Vista.

But local BJP leaders were quick to point to the incongruity of a chief minister who has repeatedly touted his common man status spending a huge amount of public money on renovating his official residence. “During the period from 2020 to 2022, which was the Covid phase many development works were postponed by governments due to lack of funds but the people of Delhi are shocked that during that Covid phase the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal used ₹44.78 crore on the beautification of his home and office,” said Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva. He referred to the CM’s residence as a fancy “glass house” and demanded that it be opened for public viewing.

The AAP defended the construction work, saying it cost ₹30 crore, by comparing it to the cost of other government houses. “The estimate for the Prime Minister’s new sprawling house across 36,268 sq ft alone is ₹467 crore,” it said.

The documents seen by HT, which include work orders, show the changes made in the chief minister’s residence and office located at Civil Lines: ₹11.3 crore was spent on interior decorations; ₹6 crore on imported marble from Vietnam; ₹1 crore for interior design consultancy; Rs.5.43 crore went into electrical, automatic smart lighting and firefighting systems; ₹1.1 crore on appliances in the kitchen, including a built-in barbecue charcoal grill; and ₹1 crore on wooden flooring.

The orders related to the refurbishing work of the bungalow issued by the Public Works Department show that work orders worth ₹7.9 crore were issued on September 1, 2020; ₹1.64 crore on June 8, 2021; ₹9.08 crore on October 22, 2021; ₹5.73 crore on December 30, 2021; and ₹9.34 crore on June 29, 2022. They also show that ₹45.5 lakh was spent on curtains, and ₹5 crore on “artistic and ornamental work”.

Leader of opposition in Delhi and BJP leader Ramveer Singh Bidhuri said no amount of clarification could explain these costs. “Kejriwal had said that I will not take any bungalow, car, security and frills; he got all these facilities after becoming the chief minister. He came into politics claiming simplicity. In his first stint (as CM), he came in the Metro to take oath and tried to show that he is a common man, but ...”

AAP leader Raghav Chadha told TV channels that the amount “should be compared with similar works elsewhere for houses of central ministers, and CMs”.

“PM Modi’s house is being reconstructed and the estimate of the project is ₹500 crore. The PM has spent ₹8,400 crore on buying a new aeroplane,” Chadha said.