NEW DELHI: Big Four ministers in the Narendra Modi government — finance minister Arun Jaitley , home minister Rajnath Singh , foreign minister Sushma Swaraj and defence minister Manohar Parrikar — haven’t spent a paisa on office improvement.But junior ministers and less-heavy weight ministers, including those affected by the recent Cabinet reshuffle, have been keener on doing up their workplace. ET’s RTI questions on office decoration expenses revealed office improvements included premium washbasins to designer glass partitions and wooden flooring.For 23 ministers, the total expenditure on office renovation in this government’s first two years has been nearly Rs 3.5 crore. ET is awaiting replies to its RTI queries on other ministers.Those who spent the most, as per data available on 23 ministers, are: Smriti Irani, Chaudhary Birender Singh, Rajyavardhan Rathore, Upendra Kushwaha, RS Katheria, JP Nadda, Sanwar Jat and Jitendra Singh Irani’s (HRD to textiles) and Singh’s (rural development to steel) portfolios were changed in the recent reshuffle.Katheria and Jat were dropped from the Council of Ministers. When Irani was HRD minister, Rs 1.16 crore was spent on renovation for the senior and two junior ministers. Just over Rs 70 lakh for Irani’s office and over Rs 40 lakh for the offices of two ministers of state.ET questions to HRD on why new offices for junior ministers were needed (HRD has had junior minister before) were not answered.A new conference room accounted for a big chunk of the expenditure on Irani’s office renovation. Chaudhary’s offices as rural development minister saw nearly Rs 70 lakh spent on flooring and ceiling.The ministry did not reply to questions. Rathore (MoS, I&B), Hansraj Ahir (MoS, chemicals & fertilisers) and Vishnu Deo Sai (MoS, mines) ran up renovation bills but their senior ministers did not.Similarly, while former minority affairs minister Najma Heptullah did not spend anything on renovation, her then junior minister, MA Naqvi, spent over Rs 14 lakh. This included, government data showed, dustbins for Rs 7,000.Naqvi told ET he wasn’t aware of any details, but that his office had been in “shambles” when he took charge. When contacted, I&B ministry told ET: “There was no office for MoS to sit in when he took over. He sat in a small room for over six months. The ministry got space on the first floor. The cost received under RTI is not for refurbishing an office. It is for constructing a new office. The space that we got was raw and bereft of standard civil/electrical design. The area of 2,200 square feet constructed comprises eight offices — minister’s chambers, conference room for his meetings, space for his OSD, private secretary, office staff and waiting room.”As per department of expenditure guidelines, Rs 2 lakh can be spent on furniture and furnishings and Rs 1 lakh on electrical appliances in minister’s office at his residence.The limit is higher in the minister’s office in the secretariat with Rs 6.5 lakh on furniture and furnishings and Rs 1.5 lakh on air conditioners and electrical appliances.There is no limit on expenditure if a new office is being constructed. In case of health minister Nadda, the ministry incurred an expenditure of Rs 22.37 lakh. When contacted, the ministry said: “The expenditure of Rs 10,60,511 reported to have incurred on modular furniture pertains to the construction of cabins and workstations, overhead storage, furniture and fixture meant for section/support staff attached to minister’s office. Upgradation of sitting facilities for sectional staff is normal ongoing exercise...and is based on...requirement. No expenditure has been incurred on minister’s own office.”