TVs worth more than 9 lakhs, 14 ACs, geysers worth 91 thousand; What is the controversy over the renovation tender of Rekha Gupta's bungalow?

Posted on 4th Jul 2025 by rohit kumar

Delhi's Public Works Department (PWD) has issued a tender for Chief Minister Rekha Gupta's bungalow. The special thing about this tender issued for the construction of the house is that it has been issued not for the construction of the CM's official residence, but for renovation. PWD has issued a tender of Rs 60 lakh for this. Regarding this, the main opposition party in Delhi - Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), as well as Congress, have surrounded CM Rekha Gupta. AAP has also started calling Rekha Gupta's bungalow Maya Mahal.

 

First, know where CM Rekha Gupta's bungalow is, and what the controversy is about it?

 

It has been said that Rekha Gupta was allotted two bungalows. Out of these, PWD has issued a tender for renovation for Bungalow No. 1. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta herself will stay here. At the same time, her second bungalow, Bungalow No. 2, will be used as a camp office for the time being.

 

The special thing about Bungalow No. 1 is that earlier the office of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi was here. Due to this, the rooms in the bungalow were divided into different cabins. Each room was divided into two or three sections so that cubicles could be made here for government employees. In such a situation, when Rekha Gupta chose this bungalow to make her residence in June, it was speculated that its renovation would be done afresh.

 

It is worth noting that since becoming the Chief Minister, Rekha Gupta has been living with her family in her private residence in Shalimar Bagh. A media group had informed some time ago that Rekha Gupta was first looking for a house to live in Lutyens Delhi, but the PWD did not have any proper bungalow to replace the bungalows under the management of the Central Government.

 

According to the tender, the tender of Rs 60 lakh that has been issued is not to be spent on any construction work. Rather, only electrical and interior fitting works are to be done. Reports have said that the bungalow that CM Rekha Gupta has got at Raj Niwas is a Type-7 bungalow. It includes four bedrooms, a drawing room, a business hall, a common hall, a visitor hall for visitors, a room for house help, bathrooms in all, a large lawn, a kitchen, and a backyard behind the house.

 

According to the tender, the first phase tender has been issued for the bungalow, which is to be renovated. Here, 14 2-ton ACs are to be installed, the cost of which has been fixed at Rs 7.7 lakh. Apart from this, five smart TVs are to be installed, for which Rs 9.3 lakh has been shown. Apart from this, lights worth 6.03 lakh are to be installed. 14 CCTVs are also to be installed for security in the bungalow, for which Rs 5.73 lakh has been separately fixed. On the other hand, 23 premium ceiling fans will be installed in the bungalow. An expenditure of about Rs 1.8 lakh has been fixed on these. Apart from this, 16 wall fans will be installed. It has also been decided to install a UPS system for Rs 2 lakh for uninterrupted power supply in the bungalow.

 

Not only this, there is a mention of installing some separate facilities for the kitchen in the bungalow in the tender. These include OTG (oven-toaster-grill) worth Rs 85 thousand, dishwasher worth Rs 60 thousand, gas stove worth Rs 63 thousand, microwave worth Rs 32 thousand and washing machine worth Rs 77 thousand.

 

News agency ANI has also mentioned the huge expenditure on lights in the bungalow through the tender. It has been said that 115 decorative lights will be installed in the CM bungalow. These will include wall lights, hanging lights, three big chandeliers. An expenditure of 6.03 lakh has been fixed in this. Apart from this, six geysers will also be installed in the bungalow at a cost of Rs 91 thousand, so that continuous supply of hot water is ensured.

 

How did the opposition target the renovation project?

 

After the information about the tender for the expenditure on the bungalow of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta came to light, the opposition parties have fiercely targeted the BJP government. Along with the Aam Aadmi Party, Congress also posted and made claims about the renovation of the bungalow.

 

Aam Aadmi Party posted on X on Wednesday and said, "Crores of rupees will be spent on CM Rekha Gupta's Mayamahal!! On one hand, Delhiites are facing many problems. They are troubled by the government's senseless policies. People are worried about saving their homes and jobs. Every Delhiite is troubled by the increasing fees of private schools in Delhi, power cuts, water shortage, increasing crime in the capital, inflation, and unemployment. In such a situation, CM Rekha Gupta is getting her 'Mayamahal' renovated by spending crores of rupees. In this renovation, ACs, chandeliers, TVs, and lights worth lakhs will be installed in her 'Mayamahal'. Crores of rupees will be spent on this."

 

On the other hand, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinet also targeted the BJP on the issue of renovation of the CM's bungalow. He said in the ex post, "While building the Sheesh Mahal, he is getting Rang Mahal built for himself! In Delhi, where people are forced to lie down in front of bulldozers when their houses are demolished, the Chief Minister, Rekha Gupta, will live in not one but two bungalows combined. And you will be shocked to hear about the renovation! 24 good ACs, expensive chandeliers, five big TVs, geyser, fridge, washing machine, dish washer, expensive microwave, 115 lamps, twinkling wall and hanging lights, 23 fans with remote control. It's all fun!"

 

The BJP had made the renovation of former Delhi CM Kejriwal's bungalow an issue.

Just before the Delhi Assembly elections, the BJP had raised several questions about the official residence of the Union Territory Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, located at Flagstaff Road. The BJP leaders had then claimed that Kejriwal had spent crores of rupees on the renovation of this bungalow. The BJP had surrounded Kejriwal over this 'Sheesh Mahal' in Delhi. After forming the government, the BJP had made public a CAG report in March 2025, which stated that in March 2020, the then PWD Minister Satyendra Jain had proposed remodeling the ground floor of Kejriwal's bungalow and building an additional floor. Citing the CAG report, it was then said that Rs 7.91 crore was to be spent on the renovation of this bungalow, but its cost reached Rs 33.66 crore by the time the work was completed in 2022. Even after the elections, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva, citing the CAG report and information obtained based on RTI, had said that Kejriwal spent Rs 3.69 crore every year on his bungalow while being the CM between 2015 and 2022.

 

Sachdeva had claimed that Kejriwal spent Rs 29.56 crore during this period on general repairs, sewage, electricity and infrastructure related works in his bungalow. Then the BJP had asked what was the lack in Kejriwal's official residence, for which he had to spend Rs 31 lakh every month on his bungalow.

 

How much expenditure was claimed on what thing in Kejriwal's bungalow?

 

Citing the CAG report, it was claimed that Rs 95 lakh was spent only on curtains at Kejriwal's bungalow. Apart from this, Rs 20.34 lakh on a TV console. Rs 18.52 lakh on treadmill and gym equipment. Rs 16.27 lakh on silk carpets. Rs 4.80 lakh on a minibar. Rs 66.89 lakh on marble for the floor and walls of the house and Rs 14 lakh on tiles were claimed. Apart from this, Rs 5.07 crore was claimed on art and decoration on Kejriwal's bungalow, and Rs 48.27 lakh on designer decorations. The total expenditure on marble was revealed to be Rs 1.97 crore. On the other hand, Rs 68.75 lakh was claimed to be spent on a modular kitchen.