NEW DELHI: More than Rs 33 crore was spent on renovation of the Delhi chief minister’s residence as against the initial estimate of Rs 7.9 crore, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has estimated.
Audit of the “renovation”, which started in 2020, also lists the appliances and amenities acquired for the CM’s residence – an 88-inch OLED TV (8K LG) purchased for Rs 28.9 lakh, 10 other OLED TVs (4K Sony) for the household at Rs 43.9 lakh, a Samsung ‘flex family hub French multi-door’ refrigerator for Rs 3.2 lakh, a microwave oven for Rs 1.8 lakh, two steam ovens for Rs 6.5 lakh, a front-loading automatic washing machine for Rs 1.9 lakh, and 10 beds and sofas for Rs 13 lakh, among others.
The Public Works Department (PWD) also installed jacuzzi, sauna and spa at a cost of Rs 19.5 lakh. An additional amount of Rs 19.8 crore was spent on construction of seven servant quarters.
The CAG report covers “additions/alterations at the residence” of the Delhi CM for the period up to March 2022. Work on the bungalow, sources in Delhi govt said, continued at least until the middle of 2023, something that suggests the total cost incurred on the controversial project could significantly exceed the expenditure scrutinised by the federal auditor.
Renovation of the bungalow, where Arvind Kejriwal lived until Sept 2024, has become a major issue in the campaign for Delhi polls, with both BJP and Congress attacking the AAP leader for splurging public money on “his Sheesh Mahal” during the Covid pandemic.
PM Narendra Modi has raised the issue twice in the last three days. On Sunday, he emphasised that Kejriwal got “Sheesh Mahal” constructed during the pandemic.
Significantly, sources said the CAG mentioned in its report that it could not ascertain the authenticity of the expenditure in the absence of documentary evidence. The PWD did not conduct “feasibility study for remodelling of the bungalow” either, it said. The audit was carried out on “partial” records made available. “The matter of unavailability of records was taken up with the executive engineer… despite several reminders, complete records were not made available,” the CAG said in its report which has been submitted to the lieutenant governor.
Further, the audit found irregularity in the manner in which PWD revised its preliminary estimates four times. “It did not explore the possibility of tendering for additional works amounting to Rs 25.8 crore, (out of which) Rs 18 crore was incurred in execution of items of superior specification, artistic, antique and ornamental items which were executed by PWD as extra items,” the CAG report said.
The report put a question mark on diversion of Rs 19.8 crore meant for construction of staff block, which was diverted and used for building seven servant quarters at another location not related to the original work.
The 21,000 sq ft built-up area at the 6 Flagstaff Road residence has eight bedrooms, three meeting rooms, two drawing rooms, two kitchens, 12 toilets and a dining hall.
The three-floor structure has 24 sofa sets, 76 tables, 45 chairs, eight beds and five recliner sofas (each sofa at Rs 80,955, for a total of over Rs 4 lakh). The inventory prepared by the PWD, as on Oct 11, 2024, shows installation of 75 Bose ceiling speakers and 50 indoor ACs in areas like kitchen, toilets, washing area, gym and other facilities.
The CAG has also questioned the selection of three consultancy firms by PWD to execute the renovation work. The agency did not provide the “basis” for selecting these firms, it said, besides observing that the selection of contractors too was arbitrary.
“During the execution of work, PWD again resorted to restricted tendering and selected five contractors for bidding on their financial status, resourcefulness and experience in executing similar works in VIP areas,” it said.
