After Supreme Court order, Mayawati to move into Rs 15 crore house

LUCKNOW: After the Supreme Court’s order that former chief ministers must vacate their government accommodations, BSP chief Mayawati has ordered her staff to start shifting to a Rs 15-crore bungalow she had purchased in 2010.

The 9, Mall Avenue property is at a stone’s throw from Mayawati’s present 13-A Mall Avenue government residence, which she has been occupying in the capacity of former UP CM. The BSP office, too, is situated nearby.

Carved in red sandstones -- similar to the one used in dalit memorials and parks constructed during BSP regime – the massive bungalow, spread over an area of more than 71,000 sq feet was purchased by Mayawati barely three years after she stormed to power with full majority in UP in 2007.

On Sunday, amid reports of Mayawati reaching Lucknow to take stock of the shifting, the security personnel manning the bungalow said that it was done up. BSP functionaries close to Mayawati said the shifting started soon after estate department served the eviction notice on Mayawati's residence on Friday.

“Behenji will give further instructions after she reaches here,” said a party functionary at her new residence.

According to the affidavit submitted by Mayawati at the time of filing her nomination in Rajya Sabha polls in 2012, the 9-Mall Avenue bungalow, with a massive dome, was bought by the BSP chief on November 3, 2010 at an estimated cost of over Rs 15 crore. This was apart from a 43,000 sq-feet property (23, 24 SP Marg, New Delhi) bought by her on July 6, 2009.

With a constructed area of more than 53,000 sq feet, Mayawati’s own bungalow is almost twice the size of her present government residence (around 23,000 sq feet). Even as Mayawati is set to move into her private bungalow, SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, too, started searching for abungalow after being served with a notice to vacate his government residence at 5-Vikramaditya marg.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh, too, has started vacating his 4, Kalidas Marg government residence and is scheduled to shift to his private residence situated in Gomti Nagar.