CHANDIGARH: Punjab ministers, who have opted to stay in their private houses in Chandigarh instead of opting for government accommodation, would now get the same grant for renovations , furniture and furnishings which are available to those living in the government bungalows.

A decision to this effect was taken during the cabinet meeting held here on Monday. The cabinet ministers are entitled to an annual grant of Rs 30,000 which comes to around Rs 1.50 lakh for the five year term. Insiders reveal, most of the cabinet members prefer to use the entire grant of five years in one go, using the money for renovating the house and buying new furniture at the time of occupying the house.

"The decision is justified on the grounds that those opting for government houses not only get sprawling property to live in, they also get refurbishing grants, but this is not the case with them," said an official. However, those opting for their own houses get Rs 30,000 house rent per month. Immediate beneficiaries of the new largesse of the government include senior cabinet colleagues like Capt Kanwaljit Singh and Adesh Pratap Singh who have continued to reside in their own houses.

Apart from the chief minister himself, their other colleagues like Manpreet Badal have preferred to shift to government accommodation despite having their own house in the state capital.

Interestingly, there are others like Laxmi Kanta Chawla, Bikram Majithia and Sucha Singh Langah, who have either opted for MLA flats or prefer stay in government guest houses whenever they are attending offices . It was not clear whether such cabinet members would also get a similar grant for refurbishing their houses in their constituencies.

Notably, the government, irrespective of its claims of having financial squeeze, has been very particular about watching the interest of its top most constituents.

In the previous cabinet meeting, approval was granted to buy Innovas for the MLAs while the bureaucrats were provided with swank, luxury cars.