Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the government has granted permission to RJD chief Lalu Prasad to retain his Tughlaq Road bungalow for another year. Mr.Prasad, who has been staying at the Tughlaq Road bungalow since 2004, was served eviction notice three months back after being convicted in a fodder scam and ceasing to be an MP.
The Cabinet Committee on Accommodation (CCA) has approved the request of the RJD chief allowing him to stay at the Tughlaq Road bungalow for another year, a senior Urban Development Ministry official said.
After receiving eviction notice, Mr.Prasad had written to Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath requesting him for extension of his stay at the bungalow citing illness of his wife Rabri Devi who required regular visits to AIIMS in New Delhi. Besides losing his Lok Sabha seat, Mr.Prasad’s RJD is no longer a national party. A national party chief is entitled to a suitable accommodation in the national capital. However, the UD Ministry proposed the extension of Mr.Prasad’s stay at the bungalow in the CCA, which decided in his favour. The Congress party is forging an alliance with RJD in the next Lok Sabha elections.
Earlier, BSP supremo Mayawati got approval of the UD Ministry for merging three bungalows on the Gurudwar Rakabgunj Road into one and was allowed two more bungalows - one on the same road and the other at the Tyagraj Marg. The BSP has extended crucial support to the UPA government.
The CCA also waived the market rent for former home minister Buta Singh, who had been overstaying in a government bungalow. “He was supposed to pay about Rs. 10 lakh as market rent but now he would pay only a special licence fee of around Rs. 13,000,” the official said.
