HP chief secys stay away from ‘jinxed’ bungalow
AMONG THE CHIEF SECRETARIES WHO HAD OCCUPIED THE RECONSTRUCTED HOUSE, TWO HAD SUFFERED A STROKE
SHIMLA : The official residence of the Himachal Pradesh chief secretary does not house the CS. The last three chief secretaries and the incumbent have chosen to take shelter elsewhere amid popular belief that the bungalow is jinxed.
In 2010, the government demolished a 100-year-old British-era cottage in Chotta Shimla and constructed a modern twostoreyed bungalow to serve as the chief secretary’s residence. Two chief secretaries who occupied the house after 2010 suffered a stroke.
When contacted, BK Aggarwal, who was appointed chief secretary in September-end, says he preferred to stay in a Type-VI house in Brockhurst than in the official residence. “When I returned from central deputation, I had no house for five months and stayed in a rest house. I was allotted the same house where I lived as the home secretary. So, I chose to stay on in the same house,” he says.
“Nobody told me that the house is jinxed and neither did I enquire about it,” he says. At present, state election commissioner P Mitra stays in the house. He had moved in 2014 when he was appointed chief secretary. He retired in 2017 and the then Virbhadra Singh government appointed him state election commissioner. Mitra suffered a stroke in 2015 but recovered. “I’ve lived in this house for long. I can’t say if it’s jinxed,” he says.
Sudripto Roy, a 1978-batch IAS officer who was the chief secretary from 2012-14, had suffered a stroke too and was hospitalised in Chandigarh before being shifted to Delhi. Roy was later appointed adviser to the Delhi government. He retired in 2015 and died in Delhi in 2017.
Mitra’s successor VC Pharkha, who was appointed chief secretary in June 2016, chose to stay away from the designated residence. Pharkha, who was later appointed adviser to the state government, stays in a Type-VI accommodation.
He was succeeded by Vineet Chawdhary in December 2017. Chawdhary, who retired this September, also stayed elsewhere.
The chief secretary’s house was built during the tenure of Rajwant Sandhu in 2010. However, neither Sandhu nor her successor, Hirender Hira, stayed in the house. The government has now mooted a proposal to allot the house to a minister. Former horticulture minister Narendra Bragta, who was appointed chief whip of the BJP, is likely to move in next month. Bragta is a legislator from Jubbal-Nawar-Kotkhai constituency and has been given a cabinet rank.
The present occupant, Mitra, is being allotted a house in the Brockhurst area.