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Govt bungalows once occupied by Akhilesh, MSY to be renovated
The duo vacated the bungalows after the Supreme Court, on August 1, 2016, ordered cancellation of allotment of government bungalows to former chief ministers.
LUCKNOW: After five years, bungalows number 4 and 5 on Vikramaditya Marg are likely to undergo renovation. On Friday, The officers of the estate department and public works department inspected the bungalows lying vacant since 2018.
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav stayed in bungalow number 4 while bungalow number 5 was allotted to SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav.
The duo vacated the bungalows after the Supreme Court, on August 1, 2016, ordered cancellation of allotment of government bungalows to former chief ministers, observing that the allotment of houses made to former chief ministers, private bodies and individuals was bad. The Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party government had in 2016 amended the Act, which was challenged by a Lucknow-based non-profit organization Lokprahari.
Later, on May 7, 2018 the Supreme Court struck down the amendment to the Uttar Pradesh Ministers (Salaries, Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1981 to provide for allotment of government residence to former chief ministers at his/her request for lifetime. Quashing the amendment, the SC had observed that “Section 4(3) of UP Ministers (Salaries, Allowances & Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2016 is unconstitutional.”
Acting on the court order, the estate department had issued notices to former CMs, including Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav, Rajnath Singh, Kalyan Singh, Mayawati and ND Tiwari, directing them to vacate the bungalows. The six former CMs vacated the bungalows.
Recently, the Samajwadi Party leaders shot off a letter to the state government, drawing its attention to the two vacant bungalows that were earlier occupied by Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav. The SP leaders said due to the negligence on the part of the state government, weeds had grown in the two bungalows and their condition had deteriorated. “Bungalow number 5 in which Mulayam Singh Yadav stayed should be converted into a memorial and bungalow number 4 vacated by Akhilesh Yadav should be allotted to a senior minister or high court judge”, the SP leaders said.
An estate department officer who did not wish to be named said both the bungalows were state government properties and the government was responsible for their upkeep and maintenance. The government agencies would carry out the maintenance work, he said.
