Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, June 27: After months-long controversy raked up by the BJP and supported by a section of the Congress, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India will conduct a special audit into the alleged administrative and financial irregularities in the renovation of the Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s official residence in Civil Lines in north Delhi, official sources said on Tuesday.
The sources said the CAG had been asked by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for a special audit following a letter dated May 24 from Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, who had pointed out “gross and prima facie financial irregularities” in the reconstruction of the Chief Minister’s official residence in the name of “addition or alteration.”
According to the LG’s letter based on a report of the Chief Secretary on the basis of which the MHA has requested the special audit, several alleged prima facie irregularities were found in the renovation of Kejriwal’s Civil Lines residence including “full-fledged construction/re-construction of a new building” by the Public Works Department and not obtaining mandatory sanction of Building Plans as per applicable building bylaws.
The report also noted that the initial cost for construction work was between Rs 15 crore to Rs 20 crore but this was “inflated from time-to-time” to the extent of approximately Rs 53 crore. It also cited violations of the MPD-2021 and violations related to environmental norms among others.
The PWD had not obtained sanction for the work, including demolition of a pre-existing building. It had not even ascertained ownership of the premises, sources said. The cost — from an estimated 15-20 crore — had gone up to ₹ 53 crore, the LG had written.
The BJP had earlier claimed that about ₹45 crore was spent on the “beautification” of the Delhi Chief Minister’s official residence in the city’s Civil Lines area and demanded his resignation on “moral” grounds. The BJP spokesman Sambit Patra had alleged that Kejriwal’s residence had been fitted with expensive marble from Vietnam, pre-fabricated wooden walls and curtains that cost lakhs of rupees each. One curtain alone cost more than ₹ 7.94 lakh, he said.
Denying allegations of irregularities, Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party has accused the Centre of targetting political opponents. “The order for a CAG inquiry into the expenditure in the reconstruction of the Chief Minister’s residence is exposing the desperation, cynicism and dictatorship of the BJP. Frustrated by the successive electoral defeats in Delhi, the BJP is plotting not only to defame the honest government of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, but also to grab power here from behind the scenes,” read a statement from AAP. The government, AAP added, should instead focus on the multiple scams taking place in the BJP-ruled states.
Terming the move “a brazen misuse of Central agencies by the BJP,” the AAP said the saffron party “was disappointed at the emerging prospect of losing next year’s Lok Sabha elections.” “The decision to initiate the same CAG investigation once again is a clear reflection of the BJP’s frustration, paranoia, and authoritarian tendencies. Conducting a CAG inquiry is a prerogative of an elected government, and by interfering in the affairs of the Delhi government, the central government is violating constitutional principles,” the AAP alleged.
It is evident that the BJP, troubled by its consecutive electoral defeats in Delhi, is not only tarnishing the reputation of the honest government led by CM Arvind Kejriwal but also engaging in clandestine efforts to undermine the established power structure. The concocted allegations, ranging from the so-called liquor scandal to alleged irregularities in the reconstruction of the CM’s residence, are part of a carefully orchestrated drama designed to divert public attention from the massive scams involving Adani, which continue unabated under the protective umbrella of Prime Minister Modi,” it added.
The AAP had alleged that the accommodation earmarked for Kejriwal was unfit to live. Party spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar had shared video of dilapidated rooms where plaster was coming off walls and a ceiling that suffered massive seepage.
“The Prime Minister, who calls himself a fakir, is getting a house built for himself with ₹ 500 crore. ₹ 90 crore was spent in renovating the house where he is living now,” AAP’s Sanjay Singh had said. It said the Central agencies should investigate the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh, the Chanda scam in Ayodhya Ram temple and the scam of the Chief Minister of Assam instead.