Bhujbal gets bungalow that Dhananjay Munde is still holding on to

Maharashtra govt has allotted bungalow 'Satpuda' to NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal, but ex-minister Dhananjay Munde hasn't vacated it yet.

MUMBAI: The state government has allotted a bungalow called ‘Satpuda’ at Malabar Hill to the newly inducted NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal. The order to this effect was issued by the state general administration department on Friday. However, former minister Dhananjay Munde, who was forced to resign from his position, is yet to vacate the property more than two months after his resignation.

Mumbai, India - May 24, 2025:Entrace of Satpuda bunglow at Malbar Hill in Mumbai, India, on Saturday, May 24, 2025. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Satpuda, located at L D Ruparel Marg, has a sprawling area of 4,667 square feet. It was allotted to Munde in December after he was appointed the new food and civil supplies minister. However, following the controversy over the brutal murder of Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, in which Munde’s close aide Walmik Karad was arrested as one of the prime accused, Munde was forced to resign from his ministerial position on March 4.

The ministerial quota of the ruling NCP was filled when Bhujbal was sworn in as a minister on May 13. While Bhujbal was given the food and civil supplies department that was previously held by Munde, Satpuda too was allotted to him on Friday.

A senior PWD official said that after a minister was relieved of a position of power, they were supposed to vacate the government bungalow given to them in the next 15 days. “If they don’t, they will be asked to pay ₹200 per square feet per month as rent for the property,” he said. “In this case, the amount goes up to ₹9.33 lakh a month.”

The public works department has asked Munde to vacate the property, and people close to him said that the former minister would do this by the end of this month. Munde did not respond to calls and text messages from HT.