Arvind Singh Bisht TNN
Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party supreme Mayawati spent over Rs 86 crore of public money to renovate her sprawling 13, Mall Avenue bungalow — a house she became entitled to in 1995 when she first became the CM. The renovation work began after Mayawati took over as CM in 2007 but the bulk of the work was completed towards the end of her tenure.
This came to light through an RTI application by Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav, who had filed the query when he was the leader of the Opposition during Mayawati’s rule. Although the RTI query dates back a year, the estate department revealed the details recently.
“We’re still assessing the total cost. There are indications that the money spent might even exceed Rs 100 crore,” said a senior estate department official. The five-acre prime land is guarded by 20-feet-tall walls of Rajasthan sandstone. Originally, the plot was over 2.5 acres, but Maya added the adjoining plot (during her last tenure as CM) which housed the cane commissioner’soffice.Thatbuilding hassince been demolished.
The main structure is single-storied with six inter-connected rooms. These open on to a wide corridor, which contain rows of lockers. On one wall along this corridor hangs a large picture of Mayawati taking her first oath as UPC Min 1995.Outsidethecorridor is a verandahwithtwowindows, fitted with bullet-proof glass. Each windowcostRs15lakh.There’s a separate two-storied well-furnished guesthouse with 14 bedrooms in the premises. All rooms have pink Italian marble flooring, Maya’s favorite color. This building, too, has a conference hall, a security room, garages and drivers’ rooms. Outside, there are two 20-feet statues, one of Mayawati and the other of her mentor KanshiRam.
The rooms were built and torn down several times, which partly explain the huge cost. “One bathroom in the main building was redone a dozen times because Behan ji did not like it,” said an official. Given her paranoia, the home department put up barbwire fence round the boundary wall. A close-circuit TV watched visitors.
The bungalow’s renovation was clubbed with the building of parks and memorials in the memory of Dalit icons. The job was assigned to the Nirman Nigam,which gavetop priority to the bungalow’s renovation. Shivpal, who’s now PWD minister, said action will be taken against those found guilty of irregularities.
Department officials said 80% of funds were provided by the estate department, the remaining by Nirman Nigam and other agencies. Nirman Nigam, sources said, refused to answer estate department’s repeated queries aboutits activities.
The bungalow was earlier Speaker’s House and long occupied by Congress’s Baldev Singh Arya, who was minister in UP’s first assembly in 1952. In 2007, during her fourth stint as CM of one of India’s poorest states, she decided to expand the property and do it up in royal style.
UP govt scraps Maya’s Jewar airport project
The UP government has decided to scrap the ambitious Greenfield international airport at Jewar, infrastructure and industrial development commissioner Anil Kumar Gupta said on Tuesday. The airport was former chief minister Mayawati’s dream project and the SP government is planning to develop a new international airport between Agra and Mathura. As per the rules, no airport can be constructed within 150km of an existing one. Jewar is less than 100km away from New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. “Central clearance for Jewar airport was pending for seven years. In the absence of this approval, UP government was left with no alternative. As a result, a decision was taken to scrap the project,” Gupta said. The decision, however, does not mean the end of the road for an international airport in the state. TNN
MAYAGHAR: Mayawati’s 13 Mall Avenue bungalow in Lucknow
Arvind Singh Bisht TNN
Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party supreme Mayawati spent over Rs 86 crore of public money to renovate her sprawling 13, Mall Avenue bungalow — a house she became entitled to in 1995 when she first became the CM. The renovation work began after Mayawati took over as CM in 2007 but the bulk of the work was completed towards the end of her tenure.
This came to light through an RTI application by Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav, who had filed the query when he was the leader of the Opposition during Mayawati’s rule. Although the RTI query dates back a year, the estate department revealed the details recently.
“We’re still assessing the total cost. There are indications that the money spent might even exceed Rs 100 crore,” said a senior estate department official. The five-acre prime land is guarded by 20-feet-tall walls of Rajasthan sandstone. Originally, the plot was over 2.5 acres, but Maya added the adjoining plot (during her last tenure as CM) which housed the cane commissioner’soffice.Thatbuilding hassince been demolished.
The main structure is single-storied with six inter-connected rooms. These open on to a wide corridor, which contain rows of lockers. On one wall along this corridor hangs a large picture of Mayawati taking her first oath as UPC Min 1995.Outsidethecorridor is a verandahwithtwowindows, fitted with bullet-proof glass. Each windowcostRs15lakh.There’s a separate two-storied well-furnished guesthouse with 14 bedrooms in the premises. All rooms have pink Italian marble flooring, Maya’s favorite color. This building, too, has a conference hall, a security room, garages and drivers’ rooms. Outside, there are two 20-feet statues, one of Mayawati and the other of her mentor KanshiRam.
The rooms were built and torn down several times, which partly explain the huge cost. “One bathroom in the main building was redone a dozen times because Behan ji did not like it,” said an official. Given her paranoia, the home department put up barbwire fence round the boundary wall. A close-circuit TV watched visitors.
The bungalow’s renovation was clubbed with the building of parks and memorials in the memory of Dalit icons. The job was assigned to the Nirman Nigam,which gavetop priority to the bungalow’s renovation. Shivpal, who’s now PWD minister, said action will be taken against those found guilty of irregularities.
Department officials said 80% of funds were provided by the estate department, the remaining by Nirman Nigam and other agencies. Nirman Nigam, sources said, refused to answer estate department’s repeated queries aboutits activities.
The bungalow was earlier Speaker’s House and long occupied by Congress’s Baldev Singh Arya, who was minister in UP’s first assembly in 1952. In 2007, during her fourth stint as CM of one of India’s poorest states, she decided to expand the property and do it up in royal style.
UP govt scraps Maya’s Jewar airport project
The UP government has decided to scrap the ambitious Greenfield international airport at Jewar, infrastructure and industrial development commissioner Anil Kumar Gupta said on Tuesday. The airport was former chief minister Mayawati’s dream project and the SP government is planning to develop a new international airport between Agra and Mathura. As per the rules, no airport can be constructed within 150km of an existing one. Jewar is less than 100km away from New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. “Central clearance for Jewar airport was pending for seven years. In the absence of this approval, UP government was left with no alternative. As a result, a decision was taken to scrap the project,” Gupta said. The decision, however, does not mean the end of the road for an international airport in the state. TNN
MAYAGHAR: Mayawati’s 13 Mall Avenue bungalow in Lucknow
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