As Uma Bharti prepares to move into the CM’s residence, some rather incongruous additions are being made to this 1934 bungalow, originally built to house an officer of the Bhopal Begum. The additions include a Shiva temple on the lawn and a havan kund to the rear of the bungalow. No official was willing to comment on the constructions underway. A spokesperson for the CM said the construction was being paid for by private sources and that the necessary sanction had been obtained. He said the there was a havan kund to the rear of the bungalow while the construction in the front was merely meant for beautification and was a replica of the Amarnath cave. Delhi-based concept designer Rituraj Sharma said he was providing the design inputs for the temple and the havan kund. ‘‘The construction is being done with Vaastu in mind. I am only advising them, the actual construction is being done in Bhopal. No payment has been made to me yet,’’ he said. The PWD SDO in charge of the CM house said: ‘‘The work is not being carried out by the PWD. Even the material is being supplied from Delhi. We are not making any payment for the work.’’ Asked if PWD had sanctioned the constructions, he said: ‘‘This is not done at my level.’’ Finally, when PWD Minister Kailash Vijayvargi was contacted, he said: ‘‘I have no knowledge of this. I will find out.’’ Apart from the legality of the constructions underway, these added structures are at odds with the history of the bungalow. The bungalow, one of five constructed in 1934 for officials of Bhopal Begum Sultan Jahan, overlooks the vast Upper Lake. According to Meera Das, who has compiled a complete list of monuments of Bhopal for Intach, ‘‘The bungalow is part of the historical development of Bhopal. If a temple is a requirement then it should be constructed keeping in mind the nature of the existing structure.’’ But the construction ignores the fact that former CM Digvijay Singh, sharing Bharati’s penchant for places of worship, had already got a temple constructed somewhat less obtrusively towards the rear of the bungalow.
