Central Vista: V-P, PM residences to be ready by 2022

The Vice President’s, and Prime Minister’s new residence are scheduled to be completed by May and December 2022, respectively, according to Central Public Works Department (CPWD), the nodal agency for the Central Vista Project, as the environment ministry’s expert appraisal committee (EAC) has granted the necessary clearance for the rest of the buildings under the plan.

The buildings also include a Common Central Secretariat and the Special Protection Group (SPG) building.

According to the CPWD’s submission to the ministry, the work on Parliament is scheduled to be completed by November 2022, vice-president enclave by May 2022, and the PM residence and the SPG building by December 2022. The cost of project, which also includes a Common Central Secretariat, has been estimated at ₹13,450 crore.

The plan, being handled by the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs, involves having a new Parliament building in place by India’s 75th Independence Day in 2022, while the entire project, which includes constructing 11 administrative buildings to house all the government ministries, is slated to be finished by 2024. Tata Projects Limited was tasked with the construction of the new Parliament complex on September 29, 2020.

The ministry’s expert appraisal committee (EAC) meeting, held on April 13, the minutes of which were made public on Monday, said, “The EAC (Infra-2)…recommended granting environmental clearance to the project subject to the following specific conditions and other Standard EC Conditions as specified by the Ministry vide OM dated 4th January, 2019 for the said project/activity, while considering for accord of environmental clearance.”

In December 2020, the EAC conditionally approved new terms of reference for the development or redevelopment of common central secretariat buildings .a central conference centre, the prime minister’s residence, vice-president’s enclave and a building for the Special Protection Group (SPG).

Under the Central Vista project, the Prime Minister’s residence will be shifted behind the existing South Block complex while the residence of the Vice President is proposed to be relocated behind North Block.