Under opposition attack, Centre to make all Central Vista plans public

New Delhi: The government will make public all documents and information relating to the redevelopment of Central Vista and construction of a new parliament building, a move aimed to counter the opposition and some civil society groups that been attacking the government for pushing through the big-ticket projects. The ministry of housing and urban affairs will launch a portal this month and publish all information on Central Vista redevelopment projects there. It will also make public the broad plan of the new parliament building, the bidders who came forward for the technical bid, the plan to redevelop old parliament building, North Block and South Block, green space to be developed, the justification for replacing old Bhawans with a new Central Secretariat, energy and other cost savings and the deadlines of different projects.

“The launch of the portal would mean greater transparency and addressing the longstanding grievance of making public the broad plans,” a senior official told ET. “It will also address the misinformation that is going around. People think the green spaces would be reduced but in fact we are increasing green space. We have changed land use to give way for a biodiversity park.” Central Public Works Department, which is the nodal agency for the three major projects, will also make public the process of public consultation undertaken. Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has undertaken the process of changing the land use of different plots of land under the Master Plan of Delhi to enable implementation of projects.

The government has decided to construct a new parliament building opposite the current Parliament House, demolish old Bhawans and replace them with a consolidated new Central Secretariat and redevelop Central Vista moving out offices from North and South Blocks into Central Secretariat. The government has set a deadline of November 2021 for redevelopment of Central Secretariat, March 2022 for completion of new parliament building and March 2024 for completion of Common Central Secretariat.