Delhi Could Sell Off 'Sheesh Mahal': Chief Minister Rekha Gupta

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said Wednesday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the city could consider a variety of schemes, including one to possibly sell off the government-owned property at 6, Flagstaff Road. She said all plans would aim to "raise the maximum revenue" possible from it.

"What it becomes is not my decision alone, but of the Cabinet and Assembly... whether it becomes a museum, or a guest house, or is sold off, we will do what will generate the most revenue from it," she said.

The other plans she mentioned, like turning it into a museum (to highlight corruption) or a guest house, which have previously been discussed, could also be considered, she said, speaking at an event organised in the capital city by a media house.

"The Sheesh Mahal is a white elephant that has us in government thinking: what do we do with it?" she said. "Should we serve the people of Delhi, or will we care for this white elephant?" she told an audience consisting of Delhi government officials and politicians.

The Sheesh Mahal is a critical and sarcastic term used by the BJP and the previous Delhi government’s critics to describe the revamped property, which was supposed to become the residence-cum-office of the previous Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and future chief ministers. Sheeha Mahal is a term that describes a late-16th century architectural style popular among elites and rulers of the era.

The Flagstaff Road bungalow in the posh Civil Lines locality in North Delhi is known to have cost almost Rs 53 crore to revamp by 2023. By then, Kejriwal had already occupied it for roughly seven years, and there were reports of roof cave-ins and other problems in the 1942 construction.

Later, the residence became a subject of political controversy and mud-slinging between the BJP and AAP, when Atishi Singh succeeded Kejriwal to the Chief Minister's post when he was jailed over corruption charges.

The maintenance of this property is said to have cost reportedly Rs 31 lakh a month, which AAP's rivals say is excessive and contradicts AAP and Kejriwal's "ordinary man" image.

AAP was in power in Delhi since 2013, until losing to the BJP six months ago.

The BJP Chief Minister's statement that the Flagstaff Road home is a millstone around its neck stems from the bitter claims and counter claims over that house and its redevelopment.

If a BJP leader, such as Chief Minister Gupta, were to set up official residence in it, they would invite the charge of adopting a luxurious lifestyle at public expense: something they charged AAP with.

"The house was built using the money earned by the people of Delhi using their blood and sweat...it became a palace of pleasures for the previous government," Gupta said on Tuesday.

Unless the house and land in question are put to use, it risks wasting resources spent on it already, but it is not yet confirmed or certain what the plans for it are.

Gupta said that apart from "exposing and taking appropriate action" against the previous government’s (alleged) corruption, the BJP government would focus the rest of its five-year term on cleaning Delhi's environment and improving basic public services, including the roads, drainage, water supply and education.