Vacate bungalows or pay rent 15 times the market rate, Bihar asks ex-ministers

The Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government had earlier turned down opposition leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav’s plea to allow him to retain the bungalow allotted to him when he was the deputy chief minister.

The Bihar building construction department (BCD) has served notices on former ministers, including former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, to vacate their official residences immediately or pay rent 15 times the standard market rate of the premises.

Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and other former ministers from the RJD are still residing in bungalows allotted to them when they were in the government. (PTI File Photo)

“Except former minister Abdul Bari Siddiqui, all other ex-ministers who were provided accommodation by the BCD, have not vacated their bungalows,” said BCD minister Maheshwar Hazari. As per norms, former ministers are liable to pay in lakhs as monthly rent if they decline to move out of the premises immediately.

This is the second time when the BCD has served notices on them to vacate the bungalows. A month after Nitish Kumar parted ways with the Grand Alliance comprising the RJD and Congress and took oath as chief minister on July 27 early this year to form an NDA government with support from the BJP and its allies, the BCD asked the ministers belonging to the RJD and the Congress to vacate the houses.

Tejashwi and his elder brother and former health minister Tej Pratap Yadav are occupying spacious bungalows adjacent to the chief minister’s official residence.

The Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government had earlier turned down Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav’s plea to allow him to retain the bungalow alloted to him when he was the deputy chief minister.

The 5, Deshratna Marg bungalow of Tejashwi has now been alloted to Sushil Kumar Modi, the Deputy Chief Minister in the JD(U)-BJP coalition government.