CPWD pushed for new Parliament as 'utmost important' project amid Covid-19 concerns

NEW DELHI: Amid growing criticism of Centre going ahead with its new Parliament building plan and redevelopment of Central Vista during a current health emergency, the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has said construction of new Parliament is of "utmost importance".
Justifying the urgent need to build the new parliament before the expert appraisal committee (EAC) of the environment ministry, it submitted, “The existing Parliament building was constructed 93 years ago. Over the years many planned/ unplanned changes have been made, often undocumented. It is in dire need of retrofitting as soon as possible. This can only be done once the building is in a vacant position and that will happen once the new Building is made available. Therefore, the development of the proposed Parliament building is of utmost importance.”
The EAC, which held meetings between April 22 and 24, has recommended for granting environmental clearance subject to some conditions, including the outcome of a case in Supreme Court.
It can be recalled that while turning down a plea for putting a stay on government’s ambitious Central Vista redevelopment plan this week, a bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justice Aniruddha Bose had observed that nobody was going to do anything during the Covid-19 pandemic.
As per the plan, the new Parliament will have a height of 42 metres spread over 65,000 square metres of built-up area on a 10.5-acre plot. The CPWD has told EAC that out of the 333 trees on the plot, 223 will be transplanted and 100 will be retained. Moreover, 290 new trees will be planted.