Central Vista: Nirman Bhawan demolished, Udyog Bhawan next
Until July-August last year, Nirman Bhawan used to house the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA), and the Central Public Works Department (CPWD).
The demolition of Nirman Bhawan, among the buildings constructed in the 1950s and 1960s, was completed last week. (Express Photo) The demolition of Nirman Bhawan — which was among the Central government office buildings constructed in the 1950s and 1960s — was completed last week, making it the first of the ministerial complexes to be knocked down for the Central Vista redevelopment project, The Indian Express has learnt.
Until July-August last year, Nirman Bhawan used to house the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA), and the Central Public Works Department (CPWD). These have since been relocated — the health ministry to Kartavya Bhavan, MoHUA to Sankalp Bhawan, and CPWD to multiple buildings in the Capital.
As of Monday, government sources said, the site was cleared of all office buildings, but an electricity sub-station of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) is yet to be relocated from the plot.
While the proposed demolition of the neighbouring Udyog Bhawan is yet to start, the machinery is in place and the work is expected to begin soon.
As part of the government’s Central Vista revamp, a 10-building Common Central Secretariat (CCS) is being constructed to house all Union ministries. Three of the 10 buildings have been completed so far.
The site of Nirman Bhawan and the adjoining Udyog Bhawan will be used to construct CCS 8 and CCS 9. The CPWD had allotted the work to Ahluwalia Contracts (India) Ltd. in January this year, accepting a bid of Rs 3,069.70 crore. The project was to be completed in 21 months. The new buildings will be seven floors each, as per the CPWD’s tender document.
Started in 2019, the MoHUA’s Central Vista redevelopment project has so far seen the completion of three CCS buildings, which were named Kartavya Bhavan last year, the new Parliament building, the Vice-President’s Enclave and the Prime Minister’s Office complex, named Seva Teerth.
Construction or planning of the remaining seven CCS buildings is underway. As per the CPWD’s plan, the government office buildings that were constructed post-Independence — including Nirman Bhawan, Udyog Bhawan, Krishi Bhawan and Shastri Bhawan — are to be demolished to make way for the new CCS buildings.
Besides, the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts and Raksha Bhawan, which housed the National Defence College, have also been demolished for the construction of CCS buildings.
The North Block and South Block, which were constructed pre-Independence, have been emptied and are being refurbished into a new National Museum.
The total sanctioned cost of the redevelopment, including the construction of the Parliament, the Vice-President’s Enclave and Kartavya Bhawan, was Rs.13,169.61 crore as of February, according to a reply by the MoHUA in the Lok Sabha.
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