Over the last few months, the proposed Central Vista project in Delhi has repeatedly made headlines. With work continuing even as COVID-19 cases rose in the national capital, it had also become the focus of Opposition ire over the past few weeks.
The massive redevelopment project envisages a new triangular Parliament building, a common central secretariat and revamping of the three-km-long Rajpath, from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate, as well as the creation of a new Parliament building and new residences and office for the Prime Minister and the Vice President. And going by recent updates from the Central Public Works Department, the PM and VP residences will be ready for occupation by the end of 2022.
As per a Hindustan Times report, the Vice President's residence is expected to be ready by May 2022, while the PM's residence is scheduled for completion in December the same year. Work on the Parliament building is slated to be completed by November 2022. As per original projections, all aspects of the central vista project are slated to be completed by 2024.
According to the CPWD's proposal, the prime minister's new residence will be built on a 15-acre plot and it will have 10 buildings and they will have ground plus three floors.
Last year, the CPWD had revised the estimated cost from Rs 11,794 crore to Rs 13,450 crore. The project is also expected to provide temporary employment to 46,700 people.
Over the last few weeks the several Opposition parties including the Congress and the Left had lashed out at the government for bringing the construction work of its ambitious Central Vista redevelopment project under the ambit of "essential services" for smooth movement of labourers during the ongoing lockdown amid spiralling cases in Delhi.
