Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated Kartavya Bhavan at Kartavya Path in New Delhi, pointing out that many central ministries were functioning from different locations across the national capital, with several housed in rented buildings.

He revealed that the government was spending Rs 1,500 crore solely on rent.

“Many ministries of the Indian government are being run from 50 different locations in Delhi. Most of these ministries are being run from rented buildings, with an annual expenditure of Rs 1.5 thousand crores. This amount is being spent by the central government just to pay rent,” he said.

PM Modi pointed out that the country’s administrative machinery had been operating for decades after Independence from buildings constructed during the British era.