The tussle for 27 Safdarjung Road | Economic Times

Former education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal has refused to vacate the bungalow allotted to him even a month after he was dropped in the ministry reshuffle. He is believed to have asked for permission to retain it.However, the house in question — 27 Safdarjung Road, a corner bungalow near Safdarjung’s Tomb in Lutyens Delhi — was home to the Scindias for years. Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had occupied the bungalow till 2019, when he vacated after losing the Lok Sabha election in Guna as a Congress candidate.After Scindia switched over to the BJP and was elected to the Rajya Sabha last year, he was given the option of at least three bungalows, but he chose to live in his private residence at Anand Lok, according to party insiders. They said Scindia would like to return to the bungalow as it was allotted to his father Madhavrao Scindia in the 1980s when he joined the Rajiv Gandhi ministry. He entertained his guests and held his ‘durbar’ at this residence. For his son, the bungalow holds a special place as it was here that his father bid him final adieu.A senior directorate of estates official who did not wish to be identified, told ET: “We had shown a bungalow to the ex-education minister, but it was not acceptable to him. He has requested that he be allowed to retain this bungalow. It is our responsibility to make the new bungalow habitable and then only a person can shift out to the new place. So far this has not happened.” As per directorate of estates rulebook, Type-VIII bungalows, which have seven rooms with quarters for the domestic help, can be allotted to serving ministers, judicial authorities and Rajya Sabha MPs. After a minister is divested of his charge, he can live in the bungalow for a month but has to vacate it after he is allotted alternate accommodation as member of Parliament. A government insider told ET that there was also a suggestion for transferring the bungalow from the ‘general pool’ to ‘Lok Sabha pool’ which would give a chance to Pokhriyal to retain the bungalow. However, no such call has been taken.