The maintenance of Delhi’s iconic Lutyens bungalows, allocated to Union ministers as residences, is proving too costly for the Union Government as the annual expenditure incurred on them has more than tripled since 2014-15.
The main reason behind it is that these bungalows are century-old and require continuous maintenance works, which is further confounded by rising inflation.
It explains why the spending on renovation, furnishing, and repairing of the Union ministers’ bungalows has now touched a record high of Rs 92.35 crore in 2025-26. It was merely the Rs 27.47 crore in 2014-15.
As per media reports, the govt spent Rs 547.68 crore on such works between 2014-15 and 2025-26 through the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), which executes the repairs, renovation, and maintenance works.
The data shows that the annual bill for 2025-26 was the highest since 2014 due to a variety of factors, including inflation as well as the wear and tear costs of the aging structures set in expansive grounds in the heart of the capital.
CPWD officials talk about maintenance challenges such as seepage, termite infestation, aging electrical systems, plumbing problems and other repairs.
Built as part of the development of New Delhi as the imperial capital, the bungalow zone was developed between 1912 and 1930 and later adapted for use by senior government functionaries after independence. Besides ministers, the bungalows are also occupied by members of Parliament, senior judges, and top military officers, among others.
As per data shared in reply to an RTI, from 2014 to 2019, the ministers spent an average of Rs 26.78 crore per year on repairs and upgradation. The average annual spending doubled to nearly Rs 50 crore from 2019 to 2024. In 2024-25, the spend was Rs 71.98 crore and last year it was Rs 92.35 crore, according to the RTI reply.
The CPWD did not furnish data on expenditure incurred during this period on the residences of MPs who are not ministers or on the offices of Union ministers.
At Rs 92.35 crore spent in the last financial year, the average cost of repairs and renovation works comes out to be around Rs 1.2 crore per minister.
During this period, the Union Council of Ministers has comprised around 70 to 72 Cabinet ministers and Ministers of State (MoS).
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