Mohan Singh Rajpal and histwo predecessors didn't shift into the bungalow, as they found its location inconvenient

Waiting for the mayor

Mohan Singh Rajpal and histwo predecessors didn't shift into the bungalow, as they found its location inconvenient

Three mayors in Pune have not bothered moving into their official residence at Ghole Road in the Deccan Gymkhana neighbourhood in the last five years.

The cash-strapped PMC has spent Rs 2.5 crore of the taxpayers' money on the swanky bungalow that lies unused because the mayors feel it is too inconvenient.

While Pune Mayor Mohan Singh Rajpal was away on an official tour and wasn't available for comment, MiD DAY spoke to his son Jagjit Singh Rajpal, also known as Sonu. "It is inconvenient for us to shift there, as most people who know us and even the general public come to meet us where we live. If we shift to the official bungalow, many people will face difficulties. Moreover, we are extremely attached to this house because we have lived here for ages," said Sonu. The mayor's wife, Jasbir Kaur, said she would find it difficult to leave her friends behind.

Rajpal currently lives in a three-bedroom flat in Rasta Peth. Ex-mayor Rajlaxmi Bhosale said that she used the premises for having lunch but had not shifted there with her family. "I have a large family. I didn't want to relocate them. Moreover, we have a big bungalow, and are quite comfortable there. The mayor's bungalow can be used by people who have small houses and need a big place," said Bhosale who lives in a bungalow in Hadapsar.

When MiD DAY asked Bhosale's predecessor Ranjani Tribhuvan why she did not live in the bungalow, she said, "I live in a slum area. I did not want to acquire any airs after assuming the mayor's chair."

Waste of money
Leader of Opposition Vikas Mathakari, however, pointed out how the corporation could have put the money to better use. "The bungalow has been constructed at a prime location. Had it been put to commercial use the PMC would have made money. Right now, the mayor's bungalow is nothing but fancy expenditure and grotesque loss of public money."

Incidentally, in the 1960s, PMC had constructed a bungalow for the mayor in Model Colony that was never occupied because the incumbent mayor had argued that it was situated in a remote area. The bungalow was then allotted to the municipal commissioner.