Central Vista Redevelopment Project – UPSC GS3

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Central Vista Redevelopment Project:
  • The Central Vista redevelopment project aims to renovate and redevelop 86 acres of land in Lutyens’s Delhi.
  • It envisages :
    • a common central secretariat,
    • a new triangular Parliament building (with a seating capacity for 900 to 1,200 MPs, that is to be constructed by August 2022 when the country will be celebrating its 75th Independence Day),
    • revamping of the 3-km Rajpath, from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate,
    • new Vice President Enclave,
    • a new residence of PM as well as PMO.
  • The Prime Minister’s Office, defence ministry, external affairs ministry and finance ministry, among others, will be shifted to a new “symmetrical, interconnected” complex of towers.
Why needed?
  • The existing building lacks several safety features such as earthquake-proofing, a standard fireproofing system and also has inadequate office space. This necessitated the demand for a modern building.
  • Many of the present Parliament buildings are dilapidated and difficult to work in. Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House, North Block, and South Block, and the National Museum building were built in 1931.
  • The legislature sits in the Parliament House whereas the president, vice-president, prime minister, and the officials of 51 ministries sit in different places. Today, 39 ministries are housed in different buildings in the Central Vista area, while 12 ministries are occupying rented premises outside.
  • The annual rent for these buildings is about Rs 1,000 crore, and they are located far from the PMO and other ministries. Obviously, the administrative work gets hampered.
  • Article 81 of the Indian Constitution provides for the delimitation of parliamentary constituencies. Since the last delimitation exercise was based on the 1971 census, the ongoing freeze on increasing the state-wise distribution of seats will end in 2026. Subsequently, the number of MPs will undoubtedly increase, which poses an urgent demand for appropriate arrangements.
    • In the new building, the Lok Sabha chamber will have a seating capacity for 888 members, while Rajya Sabha will have 384 seats for the upper house members.
    • This has been done keeping in mind the future increase in the number of members for the two houses.
Major criticism and its counter:
Many people are of the view that Rs 20,000 crore of the Central Vista project should be spent on helping the poor and providing healthcare facilities during the pandemic. But this is wrong for two reasons.
  • The government is not diverting any funds allotted for welfare schemes. Also, the government is not rolling back any welfare scheme meant for the poor to implement the project.
  • The Central Vista Project is a plan for the future. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and all other Indian leaders have planned for the future and that is why India occupies its current prime position. The Central Vista project is one such project that aims to fulfill India’s present and future needs of the Indian Parliament.
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