Kejriwal who resigned from the chief minister’s post on February 14, ideally should have vacated the house on March 1st. Kejriwal who resigned from the chief minister’s post on February 14, ideally should have vacated the house on March 1st.

Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has batted for honesty and integrity in public life, has not vacated his official bungalow C-II/23 at Tilak Lane despite the completion of the 15-day grace period.

According to Delhi Secretariat sources, PWD has not sent a notice to Kejriwal for vacating the official house allotted to him, fearing that if the same government comes to power, it might get back at the concerned officials.

Even from Kejriwal’s side there has been no communication in this regard.

Kejriwal who resigned from the chief minister’s post on February 14th, ideally should have vacated the house on March 1st.

As per rules, former ministers can stay in official residences free of cost for 15 days after demitting office.

Afterwards, if they choose to stay there (maximum of six months), they are required to pay rent much higher than market rates.

In case Kejriwal wished to extend his stay at the present location, he has to officially intimate the PWD in this regard and use the premises for six more months by paying 65 times more the licencee, which amounts to 2.58 lakh per month.

Delhi Government had recently asked former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit to pay up Rs 3.25 lakh as rent for overstaying in her official bungalow, and it had initiated the process to vacate two former Congress ministers living in official residences.

The Public Works Department had asked former Congress ministers Kiran Walia, Arvinder Singh Lovely and Harun Yusuf to pay Rs 5.8 lakh, 6.5 lakh and 2.9 lakh respectively towards rent according to market rates.

Meanwhile, the PWD has forwarded a file to the Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung seeking an extension of the 3 months stay period to 8 months after resignation or retirement.

The proposal has been cleared by the law, finance and PWD departments of Delhi government.

📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest Delhi News, download Indian Express App.