Patna, Nov. 24: Rabri Devi has not only lost her chair, she will lose her home as well.

The state building construction department today issued notices to the former Bihar chief minister and more than two dozen former ministers to vacate their official bungalows.

It means Rabri Devi has to move out of 1 Anne Marg, her sprawling home for the last 15 years that boasts an outhouse, a small swimming pool and a swanky conference hall. Her husband Lalu Prasad, also a former chief minister, occupies the adjoining 5 Desh Ratna Marg.

“This is routine matter,” said an official source. “A new government has been formed and the houses need to be vacated. As for 1 Anne Marg, its occupant can be assigned an alternative accommodation, befitting her status as former chief minister and also as leader of the Opposition, if and when she is so designated officially.”

The source did not specify a time frame but said it should be done “at the earliest”. Yesterday, Rabri Devi had said she was ready to shift “but let the orders come first”.

If the former chief minister’s fears of having to leave her home have come true, bureaucrats and police officers got a hint of what was expected of them. “Our officials and policemen will work, they will have to work?. We have to convert this challenge into opportunity. There can be no two opinions on that,” Nitish told a packed conference hall in the secretariat, hours after taking charge.

“The duty of the police is to protect the life of citizens while abiding by the law. I will encourage them all right but they must work.”

On the state’s infrastructure position, Nitish said: “My knowledge tells me it has already collapsed. But let me do a re-check. The focus, I do not need to tell you, has to be on building roads, providing electricity and water management.” Investment, he added, needs an environment.

“I wish someone had spoken to us like this earlier,” whispered a senior IAS officer, seated at the far end of the hall. “We have nearly forgotten what it means to work under a well-directed political executive.”

Asked how he would tackle scams, Nitish said he would “not look” for scandals. “But be assured, I will not spare the guilty if I come across any.”