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This story is from July 18, 2017

Pranab’s new address won’t lack in space and comfort

Even as elections for the 14th President of India was taking place on Monday, work was going on at a feverish pace at 10 Rajaji Marg. The designated home of outgoing president Pranab Mukherjee after he demits office, the 11,776 sq ft house is undergoing extensive work, with special emphasis on carving a space for his large book collection, said sources.
Pranab’s new address won’t lack in space and comfort
Key Highlights
  • 10 Rajaji Marg will be his new address after he demits office
  • There is special emphasis on carving a space for his large book collection
  • This was also the residence of another former president, A P J Abdul Kalam
NEW DELHI: Even as elections for the 14th President of India was taking place on Monday, work was going on at a feverish pace at 10 Rajaji Marg. The designated home of outgoing president Pranab Mukherjee after he demits office, the 11,776 sq ft house is undergoing extensive work, with special emphasis on carving a space for his large book collection, said sources.
Mukherjee, who has penned several books while in Rashtrapati Bhavan, is known as a voracious reader.

Life as a former President though, is going to be markedly different. From a large retinue of over 200 staffers at one of the largest estates for a President in the world, Mukherjee will be moving to less grandiose address, which was the residence of another former president, A P J Abdul Kalam till his death in 2015. He will also have to leave behind the bullet-proof Mercedes Benz which is his official vehicle at present.
There are several perks as a former President however. For instance, the President Emoluments Act 1951 (updated) entitles a former President “to the use of a furnished residence (including its maintenance), without payment of rent, two telephones (one for internet and broadband connectivity), one mobile phone with national roaming facility and a motor-car, free of charge or to such car allowance as may be specified in the rules.” It also gives the former first citizen access to secretarial staff consisting of a private secretary, one additional private secretary, one personal assistant, two peons, and office expenses up to Rs 60,000 per annum.
This is besides free medical attendance and treatment as well as travel anywhere in India, accompanied by one person, by the “highest class by air, rail or steamer”.
A former President is also entitled to 50% of the salary drawn as President, which in this case will be Rs 75,000. It’s a jump from 2008, when the salaries of the President, Vice-President and governors was revised by then President Pratibha Patil. It was revised from a salary of Rs 50,000 for the President to Rs 1.5 lakh per month. For Vice-President, it went from Rs 40,000 to Rs 1.25 lakh and from Rs 36,000 to Rs 1.10 lakh for governors.
The house for a former head of state is chosen on the following basis: it will be comparable to a residence allotted to a minister in the Union council of ministers, said a senior official. “At present, a minister is entitled to a plinth area of the bungalow as 4,498 sq. ft.,” added the official.
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