The minister of housing and urban affairs is the head of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs of the Government of India since the ministry's formation on 6 July 2017 and is a member of the union council of ministers. The minister is responsible for the execution, formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws relating to the housing and urban development in India.
The ministry is currently headed by Manohar Lal Khattar who has been the minister since 10 June 2024. Khattar is the Member of Parliament for Karnal and was formerly the 10th chief minister of Haryana, from 2014 to 2024. Khattar also jointly holds the post of minister of power. The cabinet minister is often assisted by a minister of state and formerly by a deputy minister.
History of office The ministry came into existence on 15 August 1947 soon after the independence as the "Ministry of Works, Mines and Power". Narhar Vishnu Gadgil was appointed as the first minister of works, mines and power thereupon. On 26 December 1950, the ministry was reorganized and recognized as the minister of works, production and supply. In 1952, the ministry was renamed as the "Ministry of Works, Housing and Supply" after the Department of Production was separated and the Ministry of Production was formed. Swaran Singh was appointed as the inaugural minister of works, housing and supply and served from 1952 until 1957. In 1962, the Department of Supply was separated from the ministry and the Ministry of Rehabilitation was merged with the Ministry of Works and Supply to form the "Ministry of Works, Housing and Rehabilitation".
In 1964, the ministry was renamed as "Ministry of Works and Housing" after the Department of Rehabilitation was separated from it and further renamed in 1966 as "Ministry of Works, Housing and Urban Development" and in 1971 as "Ministry of Works and Housing". In 1977, the ministry was merged with Ministry of Supply and Rehabilitation to form the "Ministry of Works, Housing, Supply and Rehabilitation". In 1980, the ministry was renamed back as "Ministry of Works and Housing".
In 1985, with rapidly growing urban issues and to give more importance to those issues, the ministry was renamed as the "Ministry of Urban Development" and further renamed in 1995 as the "Ministry of Urban Affairs and Employment" with two constituent departments, namely, the Department of Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation and the Department of Urban Employment.
The two departments were merged together in 1999 as the "Ministry of Urban Development" and bifurcated only months later into the "Ministry of Urban Development" and the "Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation". The two independent ministries were re-united on 27 May 2000 as the "Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation" with Jagmohan serving as the first office-holder.
Upon the formation of the First Manmohan Singh ministry on 22 May 2004, the ministry was again bifurcated. Two separate ministries were formed, one concerned with urban development and was named as "Ministry of Urban Development" and Ghulam Nabi Azad was appointed as the minister of urban development, while the other ministry was concerned with urban employment and poverty issues and was named as "Ministry of Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation" and Kumari Selja was appointed as the minister. The Ministry of Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation was renamed as the "Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation" in 2006 and existed until 2017.
On 6 July 2017, the two independent ministries were re-united as the "Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs" and has since existed in this form. Venkaiah Naidu who served as the minister in both the ministries prior to their merger was appointed as the first minister thereupon. He resigned the following month after being nominated as a candidate for the 2017 vice presidential election and was elected as the Vice President in August 2017. Upon his resignation, Rural Development minister Narendra Singh Tomar briefly officiated in the ministry until the appointment of Hardeep Singh Puri in September 2017. Puri has since then served as the minister of housing and urban affairs and is the longest serving minister in the ministry.
Titles of office The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has undergone several minor and major organizational and nominal changes since its establishment as the "Ministry of Works, Housing and Supply" in 1952.
19471950: Minister of Works, Mines and Power 19501952: Minister of Works, Production and Supply 19521962: Minister of Works, Housing and Supply 19621964: Minister of Works, Housing and Rehabilitation 19641966: Minister of Works and Housing 19661971: Minister of Works, Housing and Urban Development 19711977: Minister of Works and Housing 19771980: Minister of Works, Housing, Supply and Rehabilitation 19801985: Minister of Works and Housing 19851995: Minister of Urban Development 19951999: Minister of Urban Affairs and Employment 19992000: Minister of Urban Development 20002004: Minister of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation 20042017: Minister of Urban Development 2017present: Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs
Cabinet ministers Key: Died in office
PortraitMinisterTerm of officePolitical party Ministry Prime Minister From To Period Minister of Works, Mines and Power (19471950) Narhar Vishnu Gadgil15 August194726 December1950Indian National CongressNehru I Jawaharlal Nehru Minister of Works, Production and Supply (19501952) Narhar Vishnu Gadgil26 December195013 May1952Indian National CongressNehru IJawaharlal Nehru Minister of Works, Housing and Supply (19521962) Swaran Singh13 May195217 April1957 Indian National CongressNehru II Jawaharlal NehruK. Chengalaraya Reddy17 April19575 April1961 Nehru IIIBezawada Gopala Reddy(Minister of State)5 April196110 April1962Mehr Chand Khanna(Minister of State)10 April196215 November1962Nehru IV Minister of Works, Housing and Rehabilitation (19621964) Mehr Chand Khanna(Minister of State)15 November196216 April1964Indian National CongressNehru IVJawaharlal Nehru Minister of Works and Housing (19641966) Mehr Chand Khanna(Minister of State)16 April196427 May1964 Indian National CongressNehru IVJawaharlal Nehru27 May19649 June1964Nanda IGulzarilal Nanda9 June196411 January1966ShastriLal Bahadur Shastri11 January196624 January1966Nanda IIGulzarilal Nanda Minister of Works, Housing and Urban Development (19661971) Mehr Chand Khanna(Minister of State)24 January196613 March1967 Indian National CongressIndira I Indira GandhiJagannath Rao(Minister of State)13 March196714 November1967 Indira IISatya Narayan Sinha14 November196714 February1969Kodardas Kalidas Shah14 February196918 March1971Indian National Congress (R) Minister of Works and Housing (19711977) Inder Kumar Gujral(Minister of State)18 March19712 May1971 Indian National Congress (R) Indira III Indira GandhiUma Shankar Dikshit2 May19715 February1973Bhola Paswan Shastri5 February197310 October1974Kotha Raghuramaiah10 October197423 December1976Hitendra Kanaiyalal Desai23 December197624 March1977 Minister of Works, Housing, Supply and Rehabilitation (19771980) Sikander Bakht24 March197728 July1979Janata PartyDesaiMorarji DesaiRam Kinkar28 July197914 January1980Janata Party (Secular)CharanCharan Singh Minister of Works and Housing (19801985) Prakash Chandra Sethi14 January198019 October1980 Indian National Congress (I) Indira IV Indira GandhiBhishma Narain Singh19 October198029 January1983 Buta Singh29 January198331 October1984 4 November198431 December1984Rajiv I Rajiv GandhiAbdul Ghafoor31 December198425 September1985Rajiv II Minister of Urban Development (19851995) Abdul Ghafoor25 September198522 October1986 Indian National Congress Rajiv II Rajiv GandhiMohsina Kidwai22 October19862 December1989Murasoli Maran2 December198910 November1990Dravida Munnetra KazhagamVishwanathV. P. SinghDaulat Ram Saran21 November199021 June1991Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)Chandra ShekharChandra ShekharSheila Kaul21 June19913 May1995Indian National Congress (I)RaoP. V. Narasimha Rao Minister of Urban Affairs and Employment (19951999) Sheila Kaul3 May199510 September1995 Indian National Congress (I) Rao P. V. Narasimha RaoP. V. Narasimha Rao(Prime Minister)10 September199515 September1995R. K. Dhawan(Minister of State, I/C)15 September199521 February1996P. V. Narasimha Rao(Prime Minister)21 February199616 May1996Sikander Bakht16 May19961 June1996Bharatiya Janata PartyVajpayee IAtal Bihari VajpayeeM. Arunachalam1 June199629 June1996Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) Deve Gowda H. D. Deve GowdaH. D. Deve Gowda(Prime Minister)29 June199621 April1997 Janata DalInder Kumar Gujral(Prime Minister)21 April19979 June1997 Gujral Inder Kumar GujralM. P. Veerendra Kumar(Minister of State, I/C)9 June19972 July1997Ummareddy Venkateswarlu(Minister of State, I/C)2 July199714 November1997Telugu Desam Party T. G. Venkatraman14 November199712 December1997Dravida Munnetra KazhagamUmmareddy Venkateswarlu(Minister of State, I/C)12 December199719 March1998Telugu Desam PartyRam Jethmalani19 March19988 June1999IndependentVajpayee IIAtal Bihari Vajpayee Minister of Urban Development (1999) Jagmohan19991999 Bharatiya Janata PartyVajpayee II Bharatiya Janata Party19991999Vajpayee III Minister of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation (1999) Jagmohan19991999Bharatiya Janata PartyVajpayee IIIAtal Bihari Vajpayee Minister of Urban Development (19992000) Jagmohan19992000Bharatiya Janata PartyVajpayee IIIAtal Bihari Vajpayee Minister of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation (20002004) Jagmohan20002001 Bharatiya Janata Party Vajpayee III Atal Bihari VajpayeeAnanth Kumar20012003B. C. Khanduri20032003Bandaru Dattatreya(Minister of State, I/C)20032004 Minister of Urban Development (20042017) Ghulam Nabi Azad20042005 Indian National Congress Manmohan I Manmohan SinghManmohan Singh(Prime Minister)20052005 S. Jaipal Reddy2005200920092011 Manmohan IIKamal Nath20112014M. Venkaiah Naidu20142017Bharatiya Janata PartyModi INarendra Modi Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs (2017present) M. Venkaiah Naidu20172017' Bharatiya Janata Party Modi I Narendra ModiNarendra Singh Tomar20172017 Hardeep Singh Puri(Minister of State, I/C until 7 July 2021)20172019 20192024Modi IIManohar Lal Khattar2024 IncumbentModi III
Ministers of state