Central Vista Project

What is Central Vista?

Central Vista is a 3.2 kilometer stretch in New Delhi and hosts several heritage buildings, including, the Rashtrapati Bhawan, the Parliament House, North and South Block, India Gate and the National Archives to name a few. All these historic buildings were built before 1931, which is the year when the new capital was inaugurated. The Central Vista Redevelopment Project is the central government’s plan for the construction of a new Parliament building which will stand adjacent to the existing Parliament building.

Central Vista Project – Overview

1. The Central Vista redevelopment project was a proposal from the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs proposed in 2019.
2. The Project will build a triangular-shaped Parliament House next to the existing Parliament building, Common Central Secretariat, and revamp Rajpath- a 3 kilometers stretch from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate.
3. The project will also include converting the North and South Blocks into museums and develop the Central Vista Avenue.
4. The project plans call for the construction of 87 eleven storied building specifically for the common Central Secretariat to house the offices of several ministries.
5. Nirman Bhavan, Krishi Bhavan and Vigyan Bhavan will be demolished as part of the project.

Central Vista Redevelopment – Why Revamp?

1. Insufficient facilities and infrastructure of the Parliament building to sustain the current number of members.
2. The offices of the Central Government are situated at different locations, which affects inter departmental affiliation, and results in wasted travel leading to increased congestion and pollution.
3. The majority of buildings in the complex are beyond their structural lives.

Central Vista Project – Objectives

1. The Central Vista Redevelopment plan was put forward to cater for the current and future requirements of space for Parliament, Ministries, Departments, as well as better public spaces, amenities, parking etc. The redevelopment project was suggested for reasons including fire safety, acoustics concerns, the dilapidated state of the construction, which is over a century old.

2. This ambitious project proposes the construction of a new Parliament building by July 2022, and a common Central Secretariat by March 2024.

3. When this project will be completed, we expect the strength of the parliament to increase from 545 seats to 900 seats.

4. The project also hopes to enhance the aesthetics of Central Vista to make it a world-class tourist destination.

Central Vista History and Development

• King George V announced the transfer of the capital of India from Calcutta to Delhi, in December 1911, at a Delhi Durbar (a grand assembly) at which the King was crowned.

• Edwin Lutyens was given the task of creating the new city. Mr. Lutyens was known for his strong allegiance to European Classicism. Herbert Baker was also a prominent architect in South Africa.

• Herbert Baker is also the architect of the Union buildings in Pretoria, South Africa.

• The Parliament House building was a design by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker.

• The temple building which inspired the design of the Indian Parliament is the Chausath Yogini Mandir in Madhya Pradesh.

• Edwin Lutyens designed the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

• The Secretariat made up of the North and South Block, was designed by Herbert Baker.