Delhi minister Parvesh Verma on Wednesday trained guns on the previous AAP dispensation and then chief minister Arvind Kejriwal over gross violations in the erection of a sprawling mansion, widely identified as ‘Sheesh Mahal’ and also the destruction of green cover for its construction.
He made a pointed reference to the ‘expensive and luxurious purchases’ by the then dispensation, alleging large-scale irregularities in awarding contracts as well as procuring accessories for the swanky building. In a rather dramatic takedown, the minister went on to display a long list of luxurious items bought for ‘Sheesh Mahal’, then CM Arvind Kejriwal’s residence, stating how various items like furniture, sofa, tables, recliner chairs and more were bought at exorbitant prices.
He also showed photographs of the site, purportedly a green belt earlier, where the Sheesh Mahal was built for the former Delhi CM. “All those trees were cut down, and the Sheesh Mahal was erected,” said Verma, waving pre- and post-construction pictures of the place.
The PWD minister, speaking in the Delhi Assembly on Wednesday, claimed that hundreds of trees were axed to make way for the palatial mansion (Sheesh Mahal) for the AAP supremo, who called himself “aam aadmi” but chose to live in a king-size and ultra luxurious villa.
Taking the previous AAP dispensation to task, Parvesh Verma claimed multi-level violations in raising the structure, ranging from issuing of tenders to awarding contracts to procuring luxurious ornaments for the villa. “All types of sanctions, including preparing price estimates and the signature of all concerned engineers, were completed in a single day.
It’s astonishing that when Covid pandemic disrupted every aspect of administrative functioning, all the approvals were given in one day,” Verma told the House. He said that the orders for the construction of 'Sheesh Mahal' were issued precisely when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak.
The directive was issued to build a palace, and it was explicitly marked as "most urgent", he said while expressing shock and surprise over why the AAP government never marked any public development work – event tasks like sewer cleaning, in the same bracket as that of ‘Sheesh Mahal’.
“Delhi has faced two disasters: the first was COVID-19, and the second is the Aam Aadmi Party,” the BJP leader lashed out, taking a bitter jibe. Calling out the AAP convenor's double standards, Parvesh Verma further said, “When the AAP chief became Chief Minister, he took an oath promising not to accept any government vehicle or bungalow.
However, immediately after taking the oath, he hoodwinked the people of Delhi. Within just 20 days, he shifted to a bungalow on Flagstaff Road.” Parvesh Verma further claimed that adjacent to the 'Sheesh Mahal', another plot of 4,000 square yards was under consideration for erecting ‘Sheesh Mahal 2’.
“The work had commenced there, but in the subsequent elections, the AAP govt was voted out of power, and therefore work stopped; otherwise, another Rs 60 crore would have been spent,” he claimed.