With Parliament done, the next major project of the Central Vista – a new residence for the Vice President – is expected to be completed by the year end. By mid-2024, the first three buildings of the Common Central Secretariat would also be likely ready.
Sources said that more than 60% of the work on the new V-P residence, which is spread over an area of 15 acres, near the North Block, was over. The complex would include the V-P’s residence, a secretariat, a guest house, a sports facility, staff quarters, barracks and ancillary buildings.
The current residence of the Vice President is adjacent to the Vigyan Bhawan convention centre on the capital’s Maulana Azad Road.
The cost of construction of the new V-P residence is ₹206.49 crore, which includes construction and five years of operation and maintenance.
The other project on which frenetic work continues is the Common Central Secretariat.
The first three buildings of the Common Central Secretariat (CCS), which is being built at the plot which earlier housed the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, would also be ready by June next year, the sources said. The IGNCA has now been shifted to Hotel Janpath and its final destination is supposed to be Jamnagar House.
According to the Central Vista portal, the CCS will comprise 10 office buildings and a Central Conference Centre. All 51 ministries of the government are proposed to be located at one location to ensure “collaboration, coordination and synergy”, it says. The new office buildings will hold 54,000 personnel.
As of now, only 39 of the central government’s 51 ministries are housed in the Central Vista with ₹1,000 crore spent each year on rented space outside the area to accommodate the others. In certain circumstances, the same ministry has offices in multiple buildings both within and outside the Central Vista, the portal says.
While Rashtrapati Bhawan, Parliament House (old), North and South Blocks and the record office (later named the National Archives of India) were completed by 1931 along with the India Gate, Central Secretariat buildings like the Udyog Bhawan, Nirman Bhawan, and Krishi Bhawan were constructed during 1956-68 to cater to the increased demand for spaces for central government ministries.
Once the new Common Central Secretariat is complete, the existing structures on the plots, including Shastri Bhawan, Nirman Bhawan, Udyog Bhawan and Krishi Bhawan, are proposed to be demolished to make way for the new buildings, according to the plan drawn up by the Centre’s consultant, HCP Design, Planning and Management.
Construction work has also started on the Executive Enclave near the South Block which will house the PMO, cabinet secretariat, India House and the National Security Council Secretariat. India House is to be used as a conference facility like the Hyderabad House where high-level talks, especially with top visiting leaders of various countries, are currently held.
Infrastructure firm Larsen & Toubro Limited is constructing the Executive Enclave at an estimated cost of ₹1,189 crore. Sources pegged the progress in construction work there at five percent.
Approximately ₹20,000 crore is being spent on the entire Central Vista project.
