CPWD Spending on Lutyens Bungalow Upkeep Reached Rs 92.35 Crore in 2025-26
Annual expenditure on the renovation, furnishing, and repair of the official residences of Union ministers in the colonial-era Lutyens Bungalow Zone in New Delhi reached a record high of Rs 92.35 crore in the 2025-26 financial year. The figure is more than three times the Rs 27.47 crore spent during 2014-15, according to information obtained through a Right to Information (RTI) query.
Between 2014-15 and 2025-26, the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) spent a total of Rs 547.68 crore on the maintenance and repair of these residences. The CPWD is the agency responsible for executing renovation, maintenance, and repair works for official government accommodations.
Officials attributed the rising maintenance bill to inflation and the wear and tear associated with the expansive, ageing properties. The bungalows, which were constructed between 1912 and 1930 during the development of New Delhi as the imperial capital, are now 80 to 100 years old. CPWD officials highlighted structural challenges including seepage, termite infestations, ageing electrical systems, and recurrent plumbing issues. Some structures had deteriorated to the point of becoming structurally unsafe and required significant upgrades.
Spending records show a steady escalation over the last decade. From 2014 to 2019, the average annual expenditure on ministerial residences was Rs 26.78 crore. This figure doubled to nearly Rs 50 crore annually between 2019 and 2024. The spend reached Rs 71.98 crore in 2024-25 before climbing to Rs 92.35 crore in 2025-26.
With the Union council of ministers typically comprising 70 to 72 Cabinet ministers and ministers of state, the 2025-26 expenditure averaged approximately Rs 1.2 crore per minister, though costs varied across individual properties. A staff member of a Cabinet minister noted that the most frequent maintenance requests involved replacing electrical fittings like fans and LED lights, ongoing plumbing work, and periodic floor tile replacements.
Historian Swapna Liddle noted that while the area carries the name of Edwin Lutyens, he designed only the bungalows within the President's Estate. The majority of the colonial-era government residences were designed by British administration Public Works Department architects. These properties followed a standard layout featuring a large compound, ancillary staff quarters, and a primary residence. One such bungalow on Krishna Menon Marg, currently occupied by Home Minister Amit Shah, originally housed old Parliament Building architect Herbert Baker.
The CPWD's RTI disclosure covered only the residences of Union ministers, leaving out spending data on residences occupied by non-minister Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs, as well as ministerial office spaces.
