7, Race Course Road - The House

The House

The 12 acres Prime Minister's residence was built in the 1980s. It does not have his office inside the house, but has a conference room for informal meetings. PM's residence-cum-office and security spread across five bungalows 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9, including 5, Race Course Road, the Private Residential Zone for the Prime Minister, though he operates from 7, Race Course Road. Bungalow 9 is occupied by Special Protection Group (SPG), while Bungalow 3 has been converted into a guesthouse for PM's guests.

Over the years its security has gradually been beefed up, a bulletproof glasstube passage was built in 2003, connecting 3, Race Course Road, at the Prime Minister’s residence to Panchvati or 7 Race Course, where the PM meets people and delegations and holds official meetings. Also a concrete wall was added on the periphery, separating the house from the main road, to render any truck bomb or a car bomb attack ineffective. With S Venugopalachari, a TDP MP, vacating 1, Race Course Road, on government’s requests and the Special Protection Group (SPG) taken over the bungalow, the entire road with bungalows number 1, 3. 5, 7 and 9 came under PM’s offices. However PM residence is surrounded by various high rise building and public structures, from Samrat Hotel, Ashoka Hotel and state guesthouses on the one side to the Delhi Gymkhana Club (DCG), and Delhi Race Course which lies across the road, thus plans for a Helipad within the complex was muted for several years for the reason. In fact by 2004, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) took over most the rooms of Samrat Hotel overlooking the PM's residence and watchtowers were erected inside Delhi Gymkhana and it can be accessed only via Safdarjung Road entry.

In 2004, the road was refurbished at a cost of Rs 1 crore to make it the permanent residence of the Indian Prime Minister.