In five years, over Rs 100 crore spent on renovation, furnishing of ministers’ bungalows, offices

In response to an RTI application filed by The Indian Express, CPWD, which is the executing agency for these works, stated that Rs 93.69 crore were spent on renovation, and Rs 8.11 crore on furnishing of the bungalows and offices of the Ministers.

Information was sought for individual Ministers, but the CPWD provided only cumulative figures in its response.

The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has spent more than Rs 100 crore on the renovation and furnishing of the bungalows and offices of Union Ministers over the last five years.

In response to an RTI application filed by The Indian Express, CPWD, which is the executing agency for these works, stated that Rs 93.69 crore were spent on renovation, and Rs 8.11 crore on furnishing of the bungalows and offices of the Ministers.

There are 70 Ministers in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Council of Ministers (not including the Prime Minister himself), of which 25 are Cabinet Ministers, 11 Ministers of State (Independent Charge) and 34 Ministers of State.

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The Indian Express had asked the CPWD to provide the “details of expenses made on the renovation/furnishing etc of the offices and residences of Union Ministers and Union Ministers of State during 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19.”

Information was sought for individual Ministers, but the CPWD provided only cumulative figures in its response.

These figures are from April 1, 2014 to February 28, 2019. The government took oath on May 26, 2014; it is possible, therefore, that a small part of these expenses were incurred in the last 56 days of the UPA government. However, not much new work is generally taken up by CPWD once Lok Sabha elections are announced.

Shyamlal Yadav

Shyamlal Yadav is one of the pioneers of the effective use of RTI for investigative reporting. He is a member of the Investigative Team. His reporting on polluted rivers, foreign travel of public servants, MPs appointing relatives as assistants, fake journals, LIC’s lapsed policies, Honorary doctorates conferred to politicians and officials, Bank officials putting their own money into Jan Dhan accounts and more has made a huge impact. He is member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). He has been part of global investigations like Paradise Papers, Fincen Files, Pandora Papers, Uber Files and Hidden Treasures. After his investigation in March 2023 the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York returned 16 antiquities to India. Besides investigative work, he keeps writing on social and political issues. ... Read More

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