Since 26 June 2013, the Congress Party has retained its former headquarters at 24 Akbar Road. The government did not get any rent for this office during this long time. This is clear from an RTI or Right to Information Act reply recently received by India Today. The central government also said that the issue of Congress funding is currently under review and is yet to be finalised.
An RTI reply by the Directorate of Estates under the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs said that the bungalow at 24 Akbar Road in Lutys Delhi was allotted to the Congress party on August 7, but, according to official data, the allotment was canceled on June 26, since which date the bungalow has been illegally occupied by the Congress party.
The reply to the RTI application said that no rent was charged for the bungalow as the amount owed to the government was yet to be calculated. The petitioner also sought a copy of the notice to the Congress to vacate the bungalow. However, the department refused to provide this information and said that such documents are not compiled and searching for them would be an additional burden on the government authorities under Section 7(9) of the RTI Act.
This latest information is very important in view of another RTI reply received at that time which said that from July 1, 2017, the license fee of 24 Akbar Road was revised to Rs 3,920 per month. That response also included the 2013 appropriations rescission letter sent to Congress. It was said that the request of the Congress to retain possession of the bungalow and to fix the normal license fee was then under consideration.