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Directorate of Estates begins work to house lawmakers
A senior ministry official speaking on condition of anonymity said that Gandhi will be allotted a new house which will be equivalent to that of a Union Minister.
With about 280 first-time members of Parliament (MPs), the highest since 2014, the Directorate of Estates under the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs has embarked on the process of identifying and allotting houses . Several Union ministers and the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, are set to be alloted new residences next week in Lutyens’ Delhi.
A senior ministry official speaking on condition of anonymity said that Gandhi will be allotted a new house which will be equivalent to that of a Union Minister. Gandhi has resided in 12 Tughlaq lane barring the time he was disqualified from the Lok Sabha between March and August 2023 .
”Rahul Gandhi will now get an upgrade as he will be allotted a type VIII bungalow which is the type that union ministers get but we have not decided the address yet. He has not made any demands but the convention says that he has to move to a new place so we will allot him one.”
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav is also eligible for a house in Lutyens’ Delhi.
The official also said that the 37 former ministers who either lost, but are no longer part of the council of ministers , including Smriti Irani, Anurag Thakur, Arjun Munda, and Rajeev Chandrasekhar been issued notices asking them to vacate their ministerial residences by July 10.
”The allottments for the new union ministers has been discussed; the retained union ministers will continue to remain in the houses they have right now ; the new ones will be accomodated in the ones that get vacated,” the official added, pointing out that the directorate is treading softly because the former ministers are still part of the ruling party.
The official admitted that there could be a “delay” in the allotment of houses to MPs. Re-elected MPs will continue to have the same houses as before, but the new ones will have to wait for space to open up.
“For example, the MPs from Uttar Pradesh will have to stay in UP Bhawan for some time till the Lok Sabha Secretariat is able to come up with a final allottment list. We will make sure that we prioritize the MPs who do not have a house in Delhi,” the official said.
