The Delhi government has cancelled a tender for renovation work at Chief Minister Rekha Gupta's official residence, citing "administrative reasons". The Public Works Department informed the Delhi government about the project's cancellation on Monday. The renovation work was estimated to cost Rs 60 lakh.
The Rs 60 lakh tender was intended to cover electrical installations, including the fitting of 14 air conditioning units, television sets valued at Rs 9 lakh, and lighting fixtures costing Rs6 lakh.
Rekha Gupta was allocated a bungalow as her official residence three months after taking oath as Chief Minister. In keeping with the BJP's pre-election promise that its chief minister would not reside in the current chief minister's official residence if voted to power, Gupta was allotted adjacent properties on Raj Niwas Marg in Delhi's Civil Lines area.
During the election campaign, the BJP had targeted AAP's Arvind Kejriwal over his official residence. Describing it as a "sheeshmahal", the party had accused Kejriwal of misusing public funds for luxury purposes.
The renovated bungalow - spanning 40,000 square yards following the alleged illegal consolidation of four government land plots - served as Kejriwal's official residence from 2015 until October 2024, when he vacated the property after stepping down from his position.
An October 2024 Central Public Works Department report highlighted "extravagant refurbishments" and the installation of "premium equipment". The central government subsequently launched an investigation into the suspected violations and directed the CPWD to conduct a thorough examination.
Kejriwal dismissed the allegations as politically motivated, claiming the BJP was using personal attacks to divert attention from its purported governance failures in Delhi.
Neither the AAP nor Kejriwal have commented on the cancelled contract for Ms Gupta's residence renovation.
