Central Vista before SC after government move to change land use

The Central Vista issue is back before the Supreme Court with the government proposing to change the land use in Plot 1, which currently houses the bus terminus and children's playground near Church Road in New Delhi, from "public recreational" to residential, to build official residences for the vice-president and the prime minister.

A two-judge bench, led by Justice AM Khanwilkar, asked the central government to file a short affidavit explaining the need for this modification in the plans. The top court passed the order after hearing short arguments from advocate Shikhil Suri, appearing for petitioner Rajeev Suri, who had earlier challenged the Central Vista project and lost in court.

The DDA has since issued a public notice on October 28, 2020, to this effect as part of the central government's ambitious central vista project which includes building a new Parliament building and a new administrative complex to house all government departments centrally. The old Parliament will also be upgraded as part of the plans to revamp the area. The top court had earlier cleared the project. Rajeev Suri has challenged the latest conversion notice. Land use cannot be changed without public notice. The DDA notice proposes modifications to the zonal development plan of Zone D of the Delhi Master Plan 2021 for Plot 1 in the central vista area of Lutyens Delhi.