Akhilesh Yadav announces Rs 11 lakh reward for information on culprits who damaged official bungalow

Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday announced a reward of Rs 11 lakh to whosoever exposing those who damaged the government bungalow he used to reside in.

Addressing party workers while flagging in the SP cycle rally from Ballia to Lucknow at Janeshwar Mishra Park here, Yadav denied any illegal construction at the bungalow when he was chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and refuted allegations that he or his near ones were behind the damages.

“Some people, under the cover of night, went there (to the bungalow) with hammers the day we vacated the house. Names of those people must come out. SP will give ₹11 lakh to the person who exposes their names,” he said.

“Neither did we cause any damage to the house nor did we make any illegal constructions. We have provided all the evidence in the form of NOCs (no objection certifications), maps and other documents,” he said.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) president has come under attack over alleged illegal construction and the damage caused to the government bungalow at 4, Vikramaditya Marg in Lucknow.

Last week, citing a 266-page report of a technical committee, the government said that an estimated damage to the tune of Rs 5.84 lakh was caused in the bungalow which included floor, brickworks, plaster, paint and sanitary fixtures.

In a taunt, Akhilesh said that “now, the big ministers of the BJP government are writing applications to get the bungalow”.

He said the ministers were not interested in the bungalows vacated by other former chief ministers Rajnath Singh or Kalyan Singh. “They want the one that was vacated by me. So one can easily guess whose government did the development works,” he said.

Earlier, health minister Sidharth Nath Singh had said that the report submitted by the five-member committee had stated that Yadav not only caused damage to the government bungalow but also carried out illegal construction inside it.

“He carried out extra construction without taking permission of the estate department. Legal action will be taken against him for flouting the rules,” he said.

His party also released the government orders, documents and maps approved by the Lucknow Development Authority pertaining to the construction of the bungalow.

The estate department’s documents released by the SP said Rs 89.9 lakh were released for the outhouse, security room and waiting room in 2015 and the LDA-approved maps showed that the constructions were legal.

The Supreme Court on May 7, 2018, struck down the amendment to the Uttar Pradesh Ministers (salaries, allowances and miscellaneous provisions) Act, 1981, to provide government residence to former chief ministers throughout their lifetime.

Former CMs, including Mayawati, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Rajnath Singh, Kalyan Singh, Akhilesh Yadav and ND Tiwari vacated the government bungalows following the Supreme Court order.

First Published: Aug 05, 2018 21:00 IST