Prime Minister Narendra Modi will open the new look of Delhi’s Central Vista in a special event today at 7 pm. The grand redevelopment of the power corridor of India that now has a new Parliament building, a common central secretariat, and a revamped three-km-long iconic Kartavya Path from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to the India Gate began in December 2020. However, the revamp journey has been full of ups and downs. From Supreme Court halt orders to resistance from the Opposition, the project has seen it all.
Here’s a timeline of the redevelopment of Delhi’s Central Vista Avenue.
September 2022: The Centre announced the decision to rename the Rajpath and Central Vista lawns as Kartavya Path. The route runs from Rashtrapati Bhavan on Raisina Hill through Vijay Chowk and India Gate to National Stadium in Delhi. The decision was announced with the objective of shedding remnants of the British colony in the country.
May 2022: The construction of the prime minister’s residence under the ambitious Central Vista project will be completed by December 2022. The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) informed a government-appointed expert panel, which gave its nod to the project. The CPWD, which is the project developer, informed the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) that the expansion of the Parliament building and the construction of a new Parliament building will be done by November 2022 and the prime minister’s residence will be constructed by December 2022. The Ministry of Environment has already granted the clearance for the expansion and renovation of the existing Parliament building, which is part of the Rs-13,450 crore Central Vista Redevelopment Project.
December 2021: Redevelopment of Central Vista Avenue, stretching from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate and has a deadline of December 2021, achieved 60 per cent of physical progress, the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry told the Lok Sabha.
November 2021: The Supreme Court dismissed a petition challenging the change in the land use of a plot where the new official residences of the vice-president of India and the prime minister are slated to come up as part of the ambitious Central Vista project in Delhi.
October 2021: Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri said the new Parliament building, being constructed as part of the Central Vista project, would be ready for the 2022 Winter session.
September 2021: Nearly 7,000 defence ministry officials moved to new offices as Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new office complexes replacing the old hutments around the north and south blocks. The new spaces came up at Kasturba Gandhi Marg and Africa Avenue. The offices need to be shifted as part of the changes needed to the Central Vista project.
May 2021:Twelve Opposition party leaders wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to stop the construction of Central Vista in New Delhi. The leaders suggested using funds allocated for the project to strengthen the health infrastructure, which has come under severe strain, due to the worsening Covid-19 situation in the country.
December 2020: The Supreme Court ordered the government to halt all construction activities on the Central Vista project. The Supreme Court warned the government not to carry out any work on the Central Vista project until it decides on a number of 10 petitions challenging the mega redevelopment plan. The top court was particularly unhappy over a press release by the government that said the construction was to begin, and that translocation of trees was underway.
Installation of the statue of Subhash Chandra Bose underway at the India Gate, a day ahead of the inauguration of the Central Vista. (Photo: PTI)
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s statue is also being installed in the same place where his hologram statue was unveiled earlier this year on Parakram Diwas January 23 (Netaji’s birthday) by PM Modi. Made of granite, the statue is a fitting tribute to Netaji’s immense contribution to India’s freedom struggle. The 28-foot-tall structure has been carved from a monolithic granite stone and it weighs around 65 metric tonnes.
The revamp was undertaken to combat the traffic woes in and around the Rajpath and adjoining areas of Central Vista Avenue have been grappling with increasing traffic of visitors. The new power corridor will have amenities such as public toilets, drinking water, street furniture and adequate parking space.
