State shelled out Rs 86 cr for Maya bungalow facelift

PWD Minister Shivpal Singh Yadav obtained the information through an RTI application. Yadav had sought this information in his capacity as the leader of Opposition before the 2012 Assembly elections,but he received the information now.

However,in a statement on Wednesday,Samajwadi Party spokesperson Rajendra Choudhari said that the money spent on the bungalow might actually exceed Rs 100 crore.

The former CM had got bullet-proof glass fitted in her bungalow and the cost incurred on each was about Rs 15 lakh. The bungalow has pink marble,statues of both BSP founder Kanshiram and Mayawati,and five statues of elephants,which is the BSP’s symbol. The campus has also a two-storey guest house and 14 air-conditioned rooms.

Choudhari said the bungalow was originally spread over an area of about 2.5 acre,but now its area is about five acre because adjacent bungalows were razed and their land included in it. One building used to house the office of the sugarcane commissioner.

He said that the SP had promised to voters that its government would not compromise with corruption cases and get thoroughly probed the loot of state exchequer by the previous Mayawati government.

“By using RTI,the then leader of Opposition in the state Assembly has showed how Mayawati looted public money to get built her palace,which has five-star facilities,” Choudhari said. He termed the huge expenditure on the bungalow as “misuse of power” by Mayawati for her own benefit.

He said Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had stated that the “black deeds” of the former Chief Minister would be probed,without any political vendetta,and those found involved in corruption would be punished.

The bulk of the expenditure on the bungalow was incurred by the Estate Department,while some funds were spent by the Nirman Nigam and agencies like Lucknow Nagar Nigam,home and culture affairs department,sources said.