Ram Vilas Paswan's Delhi bungalow likely to be President Kovind's retirement home, repair work in full swing

The 12th Janpath Road Bungalow allotted to former Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, where he lived till his last breath, will soon find a new occupant.

If sources are to be believed, Paswan's bungalow will be President Ram Nath Kovind's retirement home. The repair work is in full swing at the Lutyens bungalow at present.

As per the information and data available with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, this property has currently been allotted to the Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship of India Rajeev Chandrasekhar. However, Rajeev was unable to move into his new house as its previous occupant Chirag Paswan did not vacate the house after his father's demise until he was recently evicted.

The general pool bungalow, 12, Janpath (Type -VIII) was allotted to Ram Vilas Paswan on March 14, 1990, in his capacity as the then Union Minister of Labour and Welfare. He continued to occupy the bungalow over the years in various capacities.

As per the official rules, the family was eligible to retain the bungalow till November 7, 2020, on a rent-free furnished basis and for another one month on payment of normal rent and payment of water and electricity charges.

"The dates on which eviction teams were sent to the 12, Janpath bungalow were August 5, 2021, September 1, 2021, February 7, 2022, February 22, 2022, and March 15, 2022. Finally, the team carried out the evacuation on March 30, 2022," added the sources.

Type VIII bungalows are generally allocated to Union Ministers. This bungalow was to be allocated to Ministers in the Modi government, who took oath on July 7 last year, including a few of them, who still continue to live out of flats given to them as MPs, sources said.

Before Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the bungalow was allotted to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, who too moved to another official accommodation since junior Paswan did not vacate the house.

As per sources, the bungalow was first offered by the government to Chirag Paswan's uncle and Union Minister Pashupati Paras, who declined the offer.

( With inputs from ANI )