A recent RTI inquiry has revealed that Karnataka CM, Yeddyurappa spent a staggering Rs 1.7 crore to renovate his bungalow, (Rs 35 lac was spent on redoing his bedroom) which is not even his official residence. "Anugraha", the so-called designated residence for the CM is currently occupied by the state home minister.
Can we say that India is a poor country where millions don’t even get a square meal but our leaders, who take the solemn oath to serve them, squander obscene amount of public money on fulfilling their personal fancies? It is scandalous, immoral, and licentious that our chosen leaders run amuck with national exchequer and get away scot-free. They are white collar criminals and ought to be severely punished for their unashamed bravado and extravagant indulgences. What is surprising and totally shocking is that there are no set standards, protocol, or guidelines for such expenditures? A leader’s wish, howsoever reckless, becomes supreme and rule books are compromised by sequacious bureaucrats and servile colleagues, who are equal partners in such crimes against people and the nation.
Such outrageous behavior of our public servants strikes at the basic human principles of propriety, which has been an anathema to our leaders from Nehruvian days. Probably the genesis of this horrendous practice can be traced all the way back to what Nehru’s administration at centre and the state governments failed to put in the books in black and white. After independence, the Viceroy House became the official residence of the President of India, and properly laid down policies and rules guide the maintenance of the property and everything related to it. Pretty much similar legal and administrative provisions have been made to run and maintain the Governors’ residences, Raj Bhawans, in the states. But no clear cut policy or guidelines were ever enacted regarding the official residence of the Prime Minister in Delhi and that of the Chief Minister in a state. This state of ambiguity opened up the possibility of misuse by unprincipled politicians, who stole public money to decorate or renovate their ‘temporary’ residences in brazen violation of existing rules and making a complete mockery of human decency and moralistic demand of propriety.
Nehru chose Teen Murti House for his residence, which now houses Nehru Memorial and Library. His successor Lal Bahadur Shastri lived at 10 Janpath, half of which is now Shastri Memorial while the other half serves as the residence of the Congress President, Sonia Gandhi. When Indira Gandhi became the Prime Minister, she lived in several residences ending with 1 Safdarjung Road, which has since become a memorial after her assassination in 1984. Others like Morarji Desai, Charan Singh, VP Singh, Chandra Shekhar, IK Gujral, and HD Deve Gouda lived in several different residences when they served as Prime Ministers. It is pertinent to note that whenever a housing unit becomes the official residence of the Prime Minister, a plethora of activities are set in motion to equip it with various infrastructural upgrades and to comply with the various security requirements costing the country a bucket and resulting in a huge and totally unnecessary drain on the national exchequer. Had there been a designated residence of the Prime Minister since independence such recurrent expenses could easily have been avoided. Luckily, when PV Narasimha Rao took the reins in 1991 he had the sagacity and maturity to designate 7 Race Course Road as the official residence of the Prime Minister and put an end to the bizarre practice. However, most of our states don’t yet have designated real estate recognized as the official residence of the Chief Minister. Even if there is one, such as in Karnataka, it is totally up to the Chief Minster to stay there or choose some other place according to his own whims and fancies as RTI inquiry has revealed in the case of Yeddyurappa.
How do we put a stop to such blatant and irresponsible behavior of our public servants, which largely go unnoticed, barring some recent revelations, thanks to the RTI cases? No wonder most of our political leaders, public servants, and even judges are vehemently opposed to the prying tentacles of RTI inquiries and are working furiously on the ways and means to circumvent them. Steps must be taken without any further delay to put in place a coherent policy framework followed by rules and guidelines regarding official residence of the Chief Minister in states so that misuse of power and authority can be stopped and state exchequers don’t have to bleed while catering to the eccentricities of our shameless ‘leaders’. Urgent action is needed to ensure that policies regarding government housing for public servants are suitably strengthened. It is high time concerned departments and authorities are made totally accountable and are required to apply stringent standards and oversight leaving no room whatsoever for interference or violations of any kind by anyone irrespective of the office and position they may occupy.
Jai Hind!
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