The cost of maintaining Delhi’s historic Lutyens bungalows has surged, with expenses for the renovation, furnishing, and repair of official residences for Union ministers reaching an all-time high of Rs 92.35 crore in the fiscal year 2025-26. This figure represents more than a threefold increase from Rs 27.47 crore in 2014-15. As these bungalows approach their centenary, the financial burden for their upkeep is becoming increasingly significant.
Annual Maintenance Costs Surge Due to Aging Infrastructure
Officials reported that the maintenance bill for the fiscal year 2025-26 is the highest recorded since 2014. This increase is attributed to several factors, including inflation and the deteriorating condition of older bungalows located in central areas of the capital.
The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has highlighted ongoing maintenance issues such as seepage, termite infestations, and outdated electrical and plumbing systems. Over the years, there have been unconfirmed discussions about potentially demolishing and rebuilding some of these aging structures.
‘These are mostly 80-90-100-year-old bungalows. Some, though not all, had even become structurally unsafe and needed to be upgraded,’ an official stated.
“These bungalows reflected the same pattern seen in residences that the British built in Civil Lines in most Indian cities to house their officials: a big compound, with ancillary buildings for the staff apart from the main building. One such bungalow, currently occupied by Home Minister Amit Shah on Krishna Menon Marg, once housed Herbert Baker, the architect of the old Parliament Building and the North and South Blocks,” she added. The government 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, according to information obtained by PTI through an RTI query. 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 Union council of ministers over the years has comprised around 70 to 72 Cabinet ministers and ministers of state. At Rs 92.35 crore in the last financial year, the cost of repairs and renovation works out to an average of Rs 1.2 crore per minister, though actual expenditure varies from residence to residence. Between 2004 and 2009, a period of five years, the government spent a cumulative Rs 93.50 crore on maintenance and renovation of bungalows allotted to Members of Parliament and Union ministers, according to an RTI response in September 2009.
“Most of New Delhi’s colonial-era government bungalows were designed by architects of the Public Works Department under the British administration,” said Liddle, author of “Connaught Place and the Making of New Delhi”. A staff member of a Cabinet minister told PTI on condition of anonymity that the most frequent demands for repair and renovation mostly concern electrical items such as fans, LED lights and plumbing work every few months, and replacing floor tiles every few years.
