Ageing Lutyens' Delhi bungalows push ministers' upkeep bill above ₹92 crore

CPWD officials have, over the years, pointed to maintenance challenges such as seepage, termite infestation, ageing electrical systems, plumbing problems and other repairs

The upkeep of Delhi's iconic Lutyens bungalows, now nearly a century old, is becoming increasingly expensive -- annual expenditure on the renovation, furnishing and repair of the official residences of Union ministers touched a record high of ₹92.35 crore in 2025-26, more than three times the ₹27.47 crore in 2014-15.

According to information obtained by PTI through an RTI query, the government spent ₹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, officials said, attributing it to various factors, including inflation as well as the wear and tear costs of the ageing structures set in expansive grounds in the heart of the capital.

CPWD officials have, over the years, pointed to maintenance challenges such as seepage, termite infestation, ageing electrical systems, plumbing problems and other repairs. In the past, there have also been plans, though never officially announced, to raze and rebuild some of the bungalows.

"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 said.

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.

Historian and author Swapna Liddle told PTI that Edwin Lutyens lent his name to the Lutyens Bungalow Zone but himself designed only the official bungalows located within the President's Estate, which surrounds the erstwhile Viceroy's House, now Rashtrapati Bhavan.

"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".

"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.

From 2014 to 2019, the ministers spent an average of ₹26.78 crore per year on repairs and upgradation. The average annual spending doubled to nearly ₹50 crore from 2019 to 2024.