A large number of ministers, including some senior ones, are operating out of hotels and state bhavans. Take the case of external affairs minister SM Krishna.
Prime minister Manmohan Singh may feel that a 100 days is a long time to achieve certain goals of governance, many of his ministerial colleagues are yet to move into a house in the capital.
A large number of ministers, including some senior ones, are operating out of hotels and state bhavans. Take the case of external affairs minister SM Krishna.
Once used to the splendour of the Maharashtra Raj Bhavan as governor there, Krishna now operates out of his room at Delhi’s Maurya Sheraton. He has been allotted 19 Teen Murti Lane, but cannot move in yet as repairs at the bungalow are taking their own sweet time.
Same is the case with labour minister Mallikarjun Kharge and heavy industries minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. Kharge is still staying at Karnataka Bhavan, along with almost all first-time MPs from the state. “The house has been allotted, I will be moving in soon,” says Kharge.
Deshmukh stays at a Gas Authority of India Limited guest house. He has been allotted 30 Lodhi Road, but it too is undergoing repairs at the moment.
SM Krishna’s junior Shashi Tharoor, too, is without home and hearth in Delhi. He is staying at the Taj hotel on Man Singh Road while waiting for his 97 Lodhi Road home to get ready.
Other ministers waiting in line include food minister KV Thomas, minister of state for home Mullapally Ramachandran and Unique Identification Project head Nandan Nilekani. Most of them visit their home towns during weekends.
Sources in the urban development ministry say that while houses have been allotted to all ministers, getting the previous occupants to vacate and readying the house for new occupants is the problem. “These things take time, especially getting former occupants to vacate,” said a source. While state bhavans cost Rs 250 a day, the hotel expenditure is proving costly.
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