Shifting of party offices gets Cabinet approval

Most political parties will have to move out of palatial bungalows occupied by them in Lutyens' Delhi, in the next three years.

The Union Cabinet today approved a policy on allotment of land for them in the institutional areas like Gurgaon, Badarpur and RK Puram, Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy told Business Standard after the Cabinet meeting.

The government's decision is set to cause heartburn to many smaller parties, including several constituents and allies of the ruling UPA, as also the Opposition parties because allotment of land will be decided on the basis of the respective parties' total strength in both Houses of Parliament.

They will have to move to a much smaller accommodation in VP House, a large building with residential facilities close to Parliament House, if they are ineligible for land.

National political parties recognised by the Election Commission of India and the state-recognised parties having at least seven MPs shall be considered for allotment of plots for construction of their buildings.

A national party will qualify for allotment of 500 square metres of land, even if it does not have a single MP. At this point there are no such parties.

State-recognised parties with less than seven MPs have to move to VP House.

Emerging from the Cabinet meeting, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that a uniform and rational policy for allotment of land would be adopted to enable effective functioning of these organisations. Political parties will have to shift to their new building within three years after they are given the land lease.

The land shall be allotted on leasehold basis and the allotment shall be made on payment of zonal variant institutional rate. The allottee will pay annual ground rate amounting to 2.5 per cent of the premium.

As per the criteria approved by the Cabinet for allotment of land, 500 square metres of land will be given to a political party with strength up to 15 MPs; 1,000 square metres for a total strength of 16 to 25 MPs; 2,000 square metres for a party having 26 to 50 MPs; one acre for 51 to 100 MPs; two acres for 101 to 200 MPs; and, four acres for a party having more than 201 MPs.

Going by this yardstick, only the Congress qualifies for a four-acre plot, while the BJP will have to be content with two acres.

Reddy, however, said no one should feel discriminated against, especially in the Opposition camp.

"Even the Election Commission uses similar yardsticks while recognising a political party as national or regional. Political parties are not supposed to have offices in Lutyens' Delhi. You cannot run a party office in a residential area. That was why we decided to allot them land in institutional areas," the minister said.