Delhi govt plans office building at ‘jinxed’ Civil Lines bungalow

The Delhi government is considering demolishing a ‘jinxed’ British-era bungalow at 33, Shamnath Marg in Civil Lines to make way for a state disaster management office, official sources said on Wednesday.

The two-storey structure, lying vacant for years, has acquired a reputation among officials as “inauspicious”, with successive occupants reportedly reluctant to move in.

The bungalow once housed Delhi’s first Chief Minister, Chaudhary Brahm Prakash, who moved in after assuming office in 1952 but resigned in 1955 before completing his term following an alleged scam.

In 1993, the bungalow was allotted to Madan Lal Khurana after he became the Delhi Chief Minister. He didn’t shift there; instead, he ran an office from it, couldn’t complete his full tenure, and resigned in 1996.

In 2013, the bungalow was allotted to Shakti Sinha, the then principal secretary (power) of the Delhi government. But he left it within four months.

Deep Chand Bandhu, former industries minister of the Delhi government, was allotted the bungalow, but he died during his tenure in 2003.

Former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit reportedly preferred moving to a much smaller bungalow on Mathura Road initially over the jinxed bungalow.

Steeped in history, the property dates back to the 1920s, when the British developed Civil Lines as a residential enclave for senior officials.

After Independence, its proximity to the Delhi Legislative Assembly made it a preferred choice for the Chief Minister’s residence. Despite its prime location and expansive layout, the bungalow has struggled to find takers in recent years, officials said.

A team from Social Welfare Minister Ravinder Indraj Singh’s office inspected the premises last year, but the minister declined to move there, sources said.

Spread across a large plot, the estate includes four bedrooms, multiple drawing rooms, a spacious living area, fountains, a front lawn, an outhouse, and seven staff quarters.