House On The Hill: The Story Behind Priyanka Gandhi바카라�s Controversial Bungalow

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra바카라�s 바카라�dream house바카라�바카라�a two-storeyed building standing on a nine-acre  plot overlooking a picture-postcard valley close to Shimla바카라�is once again in the spotlight for what is seen as a political tug-of-war linked to the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

A Himachal Pradesh BJP leader바카라�s threat to demolish the house is only the latest in a series of controversies that have clouded the project ever since Priyanka bought a part of the land in 2007. 

State BJP women바카라�s wing president Rashim Dhar Sood on Wednesday threatened to bulldoze Priyanka바카라�s 바카라�illegally built바카라� house, seen as retaliatory attack against the demolition of parts of Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut바카라�s office in Mumbai. Ranaut had a face-off with the ruling Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, largely over the drug angle in the Sushant Singh Rajput case.

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur condemned the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation바카라�s action at Ranaut바카라�s office but was quick to disapprove Dhar's threat and assured protection of the bungalow.

Thakur has also ruled out any probe into the land permission granted to Priyanka for land purchase following the threat by Rashim Dhar, who described Kangana as 바카라�Himachal ki beti바카라�. 바카라�This could be her (Rashim Dhar Sood) personal view following BMC action in Mumbai against Kangana Ranaut. Neither the state government nor the party subscribes to it. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has built a house in Shimla and it바카라�s our duty to provide her security, and protection,바카라� Thakur said in a statement.

Checkered history

Priyanka바카라�daughter of Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi바카라�bought the plot of private land in three instalments in 2007, 2011 and 2013. The HP Tenancy and Land Reforms Act 1972 debars non-agriculturists from buying land in the state without government바카라�s permission. The permission is granted under Section 118 of the act, which Priyanka obtained from incumbent governments which include both the Congress and the BJP.

The Congress government led by Virbhadra Singh, which granted her permission to purchase a part of the land for residential purpose for Rs 47 lakhs from US-based Satish and Satinder Sood. At that time, Gandhi was also facilitated by the state government to obtain a no objection certificate (NOC) from the Rashtrapati Secretariat as the land fell in the high-security zone, which include the President바카라�s retreat and a VVIP helipad in the vicinity.

The former landowners바카라� earlier attempts at selling the property had met with objection from Rashtrapati Bhawan which cited security concerns. However, Priyanka Vadra faced no such problem. Congress veteran Vidya Stokes, a former state cabinet minister known to be close to Sonia Gandhi, played a key role in the purchase of the land and grant of permissions.

BJP leader and Shimla MLA Suresh Bhardwaj, now the urban development minister, had even raised the issue in the state assembly and accused the Gandhi family of using its influence for getting an NOC from the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

But in 2011, it was a BJP government under Prem Kumar Dhumal which granted permission to Priyanka for the second time to purchase another part of the plot for the purpose of horticulture around her bungalow. In 2013, again under a Congress government, she obtained permission for adding another piece of land to her property.

The construction work for the bungalow was given to a Delhi-based architect but in 2010바카라�when Priyanka visited the site with her mother바카라�she was not satisfied with the 바카라�quality, aesthetics and the architecture바카라� of the building. The entire building was razed to the ground in 2011.

Her close family acquaintances say that the 바카라�size of the rooms, open spaces inside the building, lack of natural lighting ventilations, and, of course, the architecture was unfit to the local hill environment and its surrounding forests바카라�.   

The house was completely redesigned and re-constructed, this time by Shimla-based builder Tenzin, who took care of hill architecture, created an open terrace, a smooth drive-in facility, staircases and five bigger rooms. The bungalow now had all wooden interiors and a sloping tiled roof. It is now a palatial bungalow with all necessary security provisions.

But the bungalow continues to attract controversies.

In 2017, activist Dev Ashish Bhattacharya filed an RTI appeal seeking details on Priyanka바카라�s land purchases. Information was denied by the Shimla deputy commissioner citing Priyanka바카라�s special security status under the SPG. The matter later went to the high court, which also refused to entertain Bhattacharya's plea.