(This story originally appeared in on Apr 04, 2017)

NEW DELHI: Breaking from age-old practice, central ministries and departments will now have to pay rent for their office space , which is allotted to them by the urban development ministry. They also have to pay the electricity and water they consume, which is at present borne by central public works department (CPWD), the agency responsible for maintenance of these buildings.This is being done to end lack of accountability for inefficient use and wastage of scarce resources, an urban development ministry official said, adding that the new corporate style of using work space will kick in from April 1. "The circular for this will be out soon," the official said. Sources said this is being done as a part of larger "behaviour change" in government working, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been emphasising on. The monthly rental payable to urban development ministry would be in the range of 24 to 36 per sq ft/ per month and it would cover both air-conditioned and normal office space. This norm will cover buildings including Nirman Bhawan, Udyog Bhawan, South Block, North Block, Krishi Bhawan, Rail Bhawan and Transport Bhawan to name a few. Office spaces like these fall under general pool."Though the rent will come back to the government, the idea behind this initiative is to ensure that each and every department uses space decisively and efficiently. They conserve both space and electricity. They have to include the rent and electricity bill in their budget and hence they will be responsible. They will seek fund for rent in the supplementary budget," said the official.There have been numerous examples in the past of how different departments and ministries keep occupying space allotted to them even after they have a new building complex exclusively for them. According to estimates, the available built up space under the jurisdiction of urban development ministry is around 72 lakh sq feet in Delhi and there is a demand for another 28 lakh sq feet for government office accommodation.An official privy to the development said ending inefficient use of space will free up more built up areas to meet fresh demands. "We hope the ministries and departments will also demand better service such as maintenance since now they will be paying the rent. That will improve conditions in the work space," he added.