Lutyens bungalow upkeep hits ₹92 crore record in FY26

The Union council of ministers typically includes 70 to 72 cabinet ministers and ministers of state. At ₹92.35 crore, the average cost per minister works out to roughly ₹1.2 crore, though actual spending varies by residence.

What Drives the Costs

The bungalows in the Lutyens' Bungalow Zone (LBZ) span roughly 2,800 hectares. Built under British rule between 1912 and 1930, they were designed for senior officials and later adapted for post-Independence government functionaries. Besides ministers, the bungalows house MPs, judges and top military officers. The CPWD did not disclose spending on residences of non-minister MPs or on ministerial offices, the RTI reply showed.

Historian Swapna Liddle told PTI that Edwin Lutyens himself designed only the bungalows inside the President's Estate. Most others were the work of the British-era Public Works Department. "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," Liddle said.

A staff member of a cabinet minister, speaking anonymously, said the most frequent repair requests concern electrical fixtures such as fans and LED lights, plumbing work every few months, and replacement of floor tiles every few years.

For comparison, between 2004 and 2009, the government spent a cumulative ₹93.50 crore on maintenance of bungalows allotted to MPs and Union ministers – almost exactly what it spent in a single year in 2025-26.