The Centre is planning on changing the skyline of the historic seat of power in New Delhi, with a new or completely retrofitted Parliament building, one common Central Secretariat for all Ministries after demolition of existing office buildings and redevelopment of the 3-km Central Vista that stretches from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate.
The ambitious project of the Narendra Modi government was set in motion with the publication of a request for proposal (RFP) by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry’s Central Public Works Department on September 2. Design and architecture firms — both domestic and foreign — were invited to a pre-bid meeting on Thursday, ahead of the last date for submission of bids on September 23, according to the RFP document and sources in the Ministry.
By the time India celebrates its 75th Independence Day on August 15, 2022, the government is aiming to have a brand-new Parliament building in the vicinity of the existing one or a retrofitted version of the British-built building, Ministry sources said.
“The objective of the bid documents is to re-plan the entire Central Vista area from the gates of Rashtrapati Bhavan up to India Gate, an area of approximately 4 square kilometres.
A new Master Plan is to be drawn up for the entire Central Vista area that represents the values and aspirations of a New India – Good Governance, Efficiency, Transparency, Accountability and Equity and is rooted in the Indian Culture and social milieu (sic),” the RFP states.
While sources said there has been no decision yet on which buildings would stay and which would be razed, discussions within the government so far have leaned towards not altering Parliament, Rashtrapati Bhavan and North and South Blocks – which house offices of the Finance, Home, Defence and External Affairs Ministries – from the exterior. However, the buildings could house museums and convention centres.
Government buildings like Shastri Bhawan are likely to be razed and high-rises built for more office space, the sources said.
The demand for a new Parliament building had been raised recently by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairperson M. Venkaiah Naidu.
“Parliament House building was completed in 1927; it has been declared a Heritage Grade-I building. Its facilities and infrastructure are inadequate to meet the current demand,” the RFP states.
The buildings in the 3-km Central Vista will be redeveloped, refurbished or demolished. “These new iconic structures shall be a legacy for 150 to 200 years at the very least,” the RFP states.
According to the document, the new Parliament should be in place by July 2022, the common Central Secretariat by redeveloping existing buildings by March 2024 and a new-look Central Vista with public amenities by November 2020.