'If Rajpath was a symbol of slavery, how is the Central Vista not a symbol of slavery?'
Here are the comparative before-and-after images of the renovated Central Vista Avenue.
The redevelopment project of the Central Vista -- the nation's power corridor -- envisages a new triangular Parliament building, a common central secretariat, revamping the three-km Rajpath, a new prime minister's residence and office, and a new vice-president's enclave.
A plea was filed in the Supreme Court on Wednesday challenging the Delhi high court's May 31 verdict which dismissed a petition seeking to suspend all construction activity of the Central Vista Avenue redevelopment during the COVID-19 pandemic while describing it as a 'vital' and 'essential' project of national importance.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea challenging the Delhi high court order which had rejected a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to halt Central Vista construction work in view of the COVID pandemic.
A three-judge bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar, by 2:1 majority, held that the grant of environmental clearance and the notification for change in land use for the project was valid.
'If you are doing something to our national democratic space which involves serious amounts of land, the public should have been consulted.'
The Central Vista revamp project, which was announced in September last year, envisages a new triangular Parliament building, with seating capacity for 900 to 1,200 MPs, and it is targeted to be constructed by August, 2022 when the country will be celebrating its 75th Independence Day.
The Central Vista revamp, announced in September, 2019 envisages a new triangular Parliament building, with seating capacity for 900 to 1,200 MPs, that is to be constructed by August, 2022 when the country will be celebrating its 75th Independence Day.
For decades, several key government offices and ministries functioned from fragmented and ageing infrastructure spread across multiple locations in the Central Vista area.
The "intentions and motive" behind filing of the plea are evident from the fact that the instant project has been singled out by the petitioners despite several other agencies, including Delhi Metro, carrying out construction activities across the national capital, the Centre has alleged.
The plea also states that the petitioners are also questioning why or how the project constitutes an "essential service", merely because some executive mandated contractual deadline has to be met.
Talking about the new prime minister's residence, Puri said no design has been finalised for it and only two projects -- the Parliament building and Central Vista Avenue -- are currently being executed at a cost of around Rs 1,300 crore.
Redevelopment of the Central Vista Avenue, stretching from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate and has a deadline of December 2021, has achieved 60 per cent of physical progress, the Union housing and urban affairs ministry told the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
The project was announced in September 2019 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the new Parliament building on December 10, 2020.
A sum of Rs 2,600.99 has been been allocated for the construction of non-residential office buildings, including the Parliament and Supreme Court of India. For residential purposes, the ministry has been given Rs 873.02 crore.
A bench, comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justice Aniruddha Bose, did not agree to the submission that the project in Lutyens' Delhi needed to be stayed as the government bodies were to approach the authorities concerned for clearance and other formalities. 'Nobody is going to do anything' during the COVID-19 pandemic, said the bench.
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea against deferment of hearing on a public interest litigation seeking direction to halt construction activity at the Central Vista Avenue Redevelopment Project during the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic but gave liberty to petitioners to approach the Delhi high court for urgent listing of the matter.
The project shows a lack of respect for history, even if an inalienable part of it is colonial history, asserts T N Ninan.
He also asserted that ease of living and ease of doing business were behind the spirit of the work being done under the Central Vista project.
While the main building of the National Archives will remain intact, its annexe will be demolished and a new building will be constructed, officials said.
Modi said said that Kingsway or Rajpath, a symbol of slavery, has now been consigned to history and has been erased forever.
With the expert panel's recommendations, the project comes a step closer to getting the environment clearance (EC), to be given by the Union Environment Minister.
Describing the Central Vista project as 'vital and essential', the Delhi high court on Monday allowed construction work on the project to continue and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the petitioners for their 'motivated' plea.
The estimated project cost of the executive enclave which will house a new prime minister's office (PMO) has gone up by over Rs 100 crore to Rs 1,316 crore as the CPWD floated a fresh tender cancelling its earlier one, according to the agency's bid document.
The Shram Shakti Bhavan and Transport Bhavan in Lutyens' Delhi will be the first two buildings to be razed to pave the way for the construction of chambers of members of Parliament there as part of Central Vista redevelopment project.
In a joint letter to the prime minister, the opposition leaders, including some chief ministers, have also demanded providing foodgrains to the needy, and giving Rs 6,000 per month to the unemployed.
The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to file an affidavit on the issue of proposed change in land use of a plot where the new official residences of the vice-president and the prime minister are stipulated as part of the ambitious Central Vista project in Lutyens' Delhi.
The executive enclave will house the new Prime Minister's Office, Cabinet Secretariat, India House and the National Security Council Secretariat.
The 69 retired bureaucrats claimed that the country's public health infrastructure was crying out for investment
The redevelopment work of the Central Vista Avenue, stretching from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate in New Delhi, will be completed within two-and-a-half months, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Thursday.
A three-judge bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar, by 2:1 majority, held that the grant of the environmental clearance and the notification for change in land use for the project was valid.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea challenging the change in land use of a plot where the new official residence of the vice president will come up as part of the ambitious Central Vista project in Lutyens' Delhi.
The redevelopment project of the Central Vista -- the power corridor of the country -- envisages a new triangular Parliament building, a Common Central Secretariat and the revamping of the three-km-long Rajpath from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate and new residences for the prime minister and the vice president.
'A setback in UP will be nothing short of a political disaster on the eve of the 2024 general election.' 'Will it mean that Modi will be able to stay in his new house only for a year after it becomes ready?' asks Amulya Ganguli.
The apex court made it clear that the fate of the project, which includes several new government buildings and a new Parliament House, will depend on its decision.
Nirmala Sitharaman moved into her Kartavya Bhavan office on October 2, in time to get the work on the Budget 2026-2027 going.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Seva Teerth complex, which will house the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the National Security Council Secretariat, and the Cabinet Secretariat, marking a shift towards modernizing India's administrative governance.
The Delhi State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) has granted environmental clearance to the proposal for the construction of the 'Executive Enclave' which will house the new Prime Minister's Office and Cabinet Secretariat.
The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned to November 16 the hearing on a petition challenging the change in land use of a plot where the new official residences of the vice-president and the prime minister are stipulated as part of the ambitious Central Vista project in Lutyens' Delhi.
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