Located in the Cantonment area in the city, the state-of-the-art bungalow has failed to attract Chief Minister Harish Rawat, who continues to live at the state government's Bijapur guest house.
Sources close to him said that the CM’s hesitation to move to the bungalow is because of the ill-luck it had brought to the previous chief ministers residing there.
Constructed at a cost of Rs 15.81 crore and spread across a 10-acre area, the magnificent bungalow has 58 rooms, a swimming pool, lush green vegetation, Janta Durbar hall, and manicured lawns.
Built in the traditional hill architect, the house is located in one of the most beautiful parts of the city.
After Rawat became the chief minister last year, there were reports about alterations taking place in the building in a bid to correct the structure, as per vastu shastra.
The Chief minister’s media advisor Surinder Kumar said: “Chief minister says that house is too big and is unlikely to move there soon.”
Rawat had once said that he wanted to shift to the CM's residence after he won the by-election. But he changed his mind even after winning the by-polls from Dharchula assembly seat seven months back.
Going by the track record, three chief ministers have so far occupied the house. Two stayed there for less than six months, and one close to two years. None completed their tenure of five years in office.
Constructed at a cost of Rs 15.81 crore and spread across a 10-acre area, the CM's bungalow has 58 rooms, a swimming pool and manicured lawns
Constructed at a cost of Rs 15.81 crore and spread across a 10-acre area, the CM's bungalow has 58 rooms, a swimming pool and manicured lawns
Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank was the first chief minister to stay in the bungalow. Nishank checked in on May 13, 2011 and was forced to vacate it after four months.
Major-General (Retd.) Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri was next to move in the year 2012, but had to leave the sprawling house after only six months after suffering defeat in state assembly elections.
With Vijay Bahuguna, the bungalow got a new resident in March 2012, but he too had to make a tame exit after one year and 11 months. Rawat stays with his wife while his two sons are mostly outside pursuing their careers.
The chief minister’s only daughter is based in Delhi, following her marriage.
Uttarakhand attained statehood in 2000 and the first chief minister Nityanand Swami — a Dehradun resident — operated out of his own house.
After N.D. Tiwari became the chief minister in 2002, he shifted to a British-era bungalow which served as the chief minister's residence till 2007. By then it was declared ‘unsafe’.
Tiwari's successor B.C. Khanduri, however, occupied the circuit house and stayed there till he was replaced by Nishank, who was the first to move into the new chief minister's residence, which was later to prove ‘inauspicious’.
However, Rawat is not the only chief minister to refuse the official residence. Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi never moved into his official residence — occupied by his predecessor Prafulla Mahanta — and instead turned a state guest house into his official quarters where he has stayed for over a decade now.
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