Congress occupied 24 Akbar Road headquarters without authorisation since 2013: RTI

The Congress party has remained in "unauthorised occupation" of its former headquarters at 24, Akbar Road since June 26, 2013, and the government has not received any rent for the bungalow during this period, according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply accessed by India Today. The Centre has also said that the party's outstanding dues are "under review and yet to be determined."

The RTI reply, furnished by the Directorate of Estates, which falls under the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, states that Bungalow No. 24, Akbar Road, located in Lutyens' Delhi, was allotted to the Congress party on August 7, 1992. However, its allotment was cancelled with effect from June 26, 2013, and the bungalow has remained under the party's unauthorised occupation ever since, according to the government.

NO RENT RECEIVED SINCE 2013

In its response to the RTI application, the Directorate of Estates said no rent has been received for 24, Akbar Road since June 26, 2013. It added that the outstanding dues of the Congress are under review and yet to be determined, indicating that the government is yet to assess the amount recoverable from the party.

The RTI applicant also sought copies of notices, if any, issued by the government asking the Congress to vacate the bungalow. The Directorate declined to provide the information, stating that such records are not maintained in a compiled form and that compiling them would disproportionately divert the resources of the public authority under Section 7(9) of the RTI Act.

The latest disclosure assumes significance in light of an earlier RTI reply accessed by India Today in 2018, in which the Directorate of Estates had said the licence fee for 24, Akbar Road had been revised to Rs 3,920 per month with effect from July 1, 2017. That reply had also enclosed the 2013 cancellation letter issued to the Congress and noted that the party's request for retention of the bungalow and charging of the normal licence fee was under consideration.

BJP DUES ALSO UNDER REVIEW

The recent RTI also sought information regarding 11, Ashoka Road, another address in Lutyens' Delhi and the former headquarters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which leads the central government. The Directorate of Estates confirmed that the bungalow was allotted to the saffron party on March 21, 1985.

However, it said the property now forms part of the Lok Sabha Members' Pool, and the application regarding information on rent collection and the entity paying rent has been subsequently transferred to the Lok Sabha Secretariat. The reply further states that the outstanding dues of the BJP towards the government, if any, are under review and yet to be determined.

An RTI reply accessed by India Today in 2019 had stated that 11, Ashoka Road continued to be in the possession of the BJP as its party office. The response to an RTI application filed in 2018 had also specified that the prescribed licence fee for the bungalow had been revised to Rs 3,920 per month with effect from July 1, 2017.

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