Patna: Except RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav all former ministers have vacated their official bungalows, building construction department (BCD) principal secretary Chanchal Kumar claimed on Thursday.
"We had approached a single bench of the Patna High Court as former ministers were not vacating bungalows," Chanchal said in response to a question from The Telegraph at Soochna Bhavan. He was accompanied by BCD minister Maheswar Hazari. "We won the case as the court directed them to vacate the bungalows. Most ministers have vacated their bungalows but one person (Tejashwi) has moved the high court, which has put a stay on the order for vacating the bungalow."
As per rule, the state government has four pools - central pool, high court pool, Legislative Council pool and Legislative Assembly pool - to allot bungalows. All four pools give residences to legislators and respective employees.
Bihar ministers, be they members of the Assembly or Council, are allotted bungalows from the central pool by the building construction department. As per rule, once an MLA or MLC is no more a minister, he or she has to vacate the bungalow. But in the case of Ashok Choudhary, earlier with the Congress and now in the ruling JDU, the rules seem to have been changed because he still stays in the ministerial bungalow at 2 Polo Road even though he is just an MLC.
Earlier, RJD ministers were served a notice to vacate bungalows after chief minister Nitish Kumar left the Grand Alliance to join the NDA. However, few RJD ministers approached Patna High Court, challenging the BCD notice. The court ruled in favour of the government.
The notice was also served on RJD chief Lalu Prasad's younger son Tejashwi. But Tejashwi wrote to Nitish, Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Choudhary, BCD minister Maheshwar Hazari and BCD principal secretary Chanchal.
He said he was allotted 5 Deshratna Marg as a minister and not as deputy chief minister. He cited precedents when a minister becomes leader of Opposition and retains the bungalow. He cited Sushil Kumar Modi, Nand Kishore Yadav and Prem Kumar.
