The government has formed a committee to ensure that its Central Vista project is completed in a timely manner, PTI reported on Saturday. The deadline to complete the project is 2026, according to The Times of India.
The committee will monitor the pace of the project’s execution and ensure that there is “multi-agency, multi-stakeholder coordination”, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs said in an order, according to The Indian Express.
The 20,000-crore Central Vista project will redevelop a stretch at the heart of Lutyens Delhi. A sum of Rs 971 crore will be spent on a new Parliament building, while Rs 13,450 crore will be for new residences of the prime minister and the vice president.
The housing ministry said in its order that as the project proceeds, complexities in its implementation are likely to increase, The Indian Express reported.
“Various aspects relating to the project, including development of cultural spaces and seamless coordination between various stakeholders, would need close oversight,” the ministry added.
The committee that has been formed to oversee the project will have a tenure of two years. It will have five members and be led by former finance secretary Ratan P Watal.
The committee will meet regularly, visit the site of the project and submit reports to the government.
The Central Vista has been described by the Opposition as a vanity project of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The project has also been challenged in courts.
In May, a petition had been filed in the Delhi High Court, saying that the project was not an essential activity and could be put on hold amid the coronavirus pandemic.
But the court held that it was a project of national importance and dismissed the plea.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court also dismissed a petition challenging the Central Vista project in Delhi.
The petitioner, social activist Rajeev Suri, had argued in the the court that the government proposed to change land use in plot one of the Central Vista area from “recreational” to “residential”. The area that was being reserved for recreational purposes will now have residences of the vice president and the prime minister. Suri added that it will result in loss of recreational and green areas.
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