With 315 new MPs set to make Delhi their home, some of them as ministers, a race has begun to bag the best bungalows in Lutyens’ Delhi.Early last week, as it finally sunk in that the Congress would not be forming the government by a mile, among the first to react was former Union minister for external affairs Salman Khurshid. The 71-year-old, it’s believed, immediately offered to give up his luxurious official residence in Lutyens’ Delhi which he shares with wife Louise. But his graceful gesture comes with a challenge - how will his 100 pets (macaws, fantails, rabbits, cows, hamsters, 15 cats including a sullen Persian, 55 dogs including Labradors and hounds) currently used to relaxing in spacious enclosures at the four-acre Kushak Road bungalow feel at home in his Jamia Nagar residence?Although spacious by most standards, the new home is unlikely to accommodate them all, even with a modification of the roof which, sources say, is being looked at as an option. But, the pace of moving-andpacking at the central Delhi official residence, which Khurshid has occupied for 10 years, is an indication that the former Lok Sabha MP plans to make good his word.It seems relocation packers in the capital are going to have a field day with most UPA leaders having lost their seat. The other body that’s working overtime is the Urban Development Ministry that’s in charge of the residences. Officials here have already begun sending out notices to vacate.Among the few exceptions are Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi, former chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Nandan Nilekani, Rajya Sabha MP Murli Deora and RJD chief Lalu Yadav. This lot has been granted an extension until October.Outgoing defence minister AK Antony on Wednesday, we hear, hurriedly called his office staff for a quick group photo, saying, “I will not come back in the next five years, let’s pose for a joint photograph,” but he is among a precious few.When Delhi took over as the capital of British India from Kolkata in 1911, British architect Edwin Lutyens was entrusted the task of designing the city and its principle buildings, lending it an imperial flavour with the use of the traditions of European Rennaissance. Lutyens Delhi includes the Lutyens Bungalow Zone spread over 26 sq km. It’s the centre of power and houses the official residence of the President, Prime Minister, all Union ministers, MPs and seniors of the judiciary and armed forces. While nearly 800 of the residences are reserved for Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs, the rest are for former PMs, their families and various government trusts and bodies.Who gets which luxury pad is directly dependant on where they sit in the political hierarchy. For instance, former cabinet ministers like Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia, who have lost their berth but retained their constituencies will be shifted from Type VIII to Type V homes. All MPs, as per government regulations, are entitled to Type IV and V bungalows. A typical Type IV bungalow has four bedrooms and a study. The higher category, allotted to second-time MPs and Cabinet ministers are fewer in number. Cabinet ministers enjoy Type VIII bungalows, which come with large lawns. The front lawn of former petroleum minister Jaipal Reddy’s home is large enough to accommodate five badminton courts. Type V bungalows may not have individual lawns but a shared space among six others.Obviously, the stakes are high.Urban Development Secretary Dr Sudhir Krishna, a 1977 batch IAS officer, has instructed his office to ensure the homes are vacated by June 30. The no-nonsense officer, who made headlines for protesting against then finance minister P Chidambaram humiliating him in a meeting, has reportedly turned down a request by former boss Kamal Nath, to accommodate some bureaucrats in government homes in a plush South Delhi neighbourhood.But the task of readying Delhi for its new politicians, has, historically speaking, never been easy. The process, say ministry officials could stretch up to September. “No one responds to the notice the first time. All notices are repeated twice, even three times,” said one official.Add to this the backlog of officials who were meant to vacate their homes under the UPA regime. The list includes as many as 22 former ministers - the tainted duo of A Raja and Pawan Bansal, former railway minister Mukul Roy, former foreign minister S M Krishna and former transport minister CP Joshi.Most eviction notices are either ignored or rejected. Ministry officials say, several notices have been sent to Dayanidhi Maran, who relinquished his post as Union minister in July 2011. Each time officials arrive at his doorstep, his staff claim Maran is on a pilgrimage and can be contacted on return. Bansal, who resigned from the cabinet in May 2013 and Krishna, who has been out since October 2012, say they are “in the process of seeking alternate accommodation”. Why they haven’t found one is anybody’s guess.Former social justice and empowerment minister Mukul Wasnik, who occupies 36 Aurangzeb Road - one of Delhi’s most expensive zones with offices of the Ambani brothers, the Israeli embassy and the Taj Mahal hotel - hasn’t packed up despite being dropped from the cabinet last year. Two houses away, Agatha Sangma, who was dropped as junior minister for rural development the same day as Wasnik, too has refused to reply to the six eviction letters sent to her. Neither offered any explanation either, claim ministry officials.Lalu Yadav asked for an extension on the grounds that his grandchildren’s school was close to the home.When Raja resigned as minister in November 2010, he was asked to vacate 2-A, Moti Lal Nehru Marg. However, he wrote back saying shifting home would take weeks, even months, because he was in the possession of a large number of artefacts. It’s been two years since, and Raja’s name still adorns the entrance.Even Delhi MPs are playing truant. AAP chief and former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has got four notices but not responded with a firm date of vacating the plush C-II/23 Tilak Lane accommodation that lies close to the city’s Supreme Court, Oberoi Hotel and the expansive trade fair complex. “He wanted to stay till his daughter’s examinations, saying his friends would pay the rent. But he has not said how and when,” said an official. Another AAP leader Manish Sisodia, who lives in a government accommodation at Patparganj across the Yamuna, has repeatedly ignored eviction notices.There are rules to govern when a politician should leave an official bungalow. A July 5, 2013 Supreme Court directive said such accommodation is to be vacated within a month of ceasing to be minister. Failing which the “matter should be intimated to the Speaker/Chairman of the House and action should be initiated by the House committee for breach of privilege.” Last year, for instance, former Bihar Governor Buta Singh was asked to pay market rent for his bungalow. That would have come to Rs 1 lakh a month. However, Singh asked the PMO to revise his rent as his monthly pension of Rs 60,000 stood lower than the rent. This was done, but the final rent was not disclosed.But a senior BJP leader says, on condition of anonymity, that Lutyens’ Delhi will not see a forcible eviction. “Memories of 1982 when the then PM Indira Gandhi had daughter-in-law Maneka Gandhi thrown of her house are still fresh and no one wants to relive those memories,” he adds.In the meanwhile, the ministry’s director of estates (DoE) has already booked 180 rooms in Samrat Hotel, Janpath Hotel and Ashoka Hotel, in addition to 240 rooms in various State bhavans. Some rooms have also been booked at the privatelyowned Leela Palace. Type VII bungalows, especially in Tughluq Lane, Harish Chandra Lane and Telegraph Lane, generally reserved for MPs, have been refurbished in case Type VIII bungalows are not vacated soon enough.Last heard, the demand for plush bungalows among the BJP members was almost as high as the curiosity over who’s in or out of the newlyelected Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet.