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A vista for the future: Central Vista spending isn't hurting other priorities. And iconic buildings won't be demolished

Much confusion has prevailed over the Central Vista Project (CVP). What does it aim to accomplish and what are the objections to it?
Published On: Aug, 24 2021
The legislative branch of India is currently housed in the Parliament House. The executive branch, consisting of the President, Vice-president, Prime Minister and 51 ministries, resides in numerous buildings in and outside the Central Vista. In its original form, as completed in 1931, the latter consisted of the President’s House, Parliament House, North and South Blocks and National Archives. 
Expanded need for office space led to the addition of the Central Secretariat buildings such as Udyog Bhawan, Nirman Bhawan, Shastri Bhawan, Rail Bhawan and Krishi Bhawan during 1956-68. Today, 39 ministries are housed in these buildings in the Central Vista while the remaining 12 in rented spaces outside of it.
 
Built in times when even window air conditioning and telephone were considered luxuries, digital age was decades away and space was plentiful, these buildings are highly inefficient at accommodating modern amenities and technologies and make highly inefficient use of space. Moreover, several ministries are located far away from Central Secretariat buildings paying nearly Rs 1,000 crore in rental annually.
 
With India emerging as a global player, it is important for its national government to be housed in spacious modern buildings. Moreover, offices must be designed for the digital age. There should be enough space to house all ministries within quick reach of each other.
 
These are the objectives behind CVP. It includes a new building for the parliament; rejuvenation of the Central Vista Avenue (CVA); new residences for the Vice-president and PM; a new PMO; a new common central secretariat that would bring all 51 ministries in a complex of internally connected buildings; new, modern and significantly more spacious homes for the National Museum, National Archives and Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA); a new garden near Yamuna; and a biodiversity arbor ..
 
The estimated cost of the project is Rs 20,000 crore and it is slated for completion in 2026. The first phase, launched in the current fiscal year, aims to complete the new parliament building and rejuvenation of the CVA at the total cost of Rs 1,339 crore.
 
It would seem that a project that modernises the seat of the national government, makes efficient use of scarce space and beautifies the national capital would be welcome by all. But it is not so.
 
Critics argue that instead of wasting the sum of Rs 20,000 crore on new buildings, the government should use them to alleviate poverty. But this is a spurious argument. While a nation must surely strive to assist its poor, it must also invest in its future. Going back to the 1950s and 1960s, if PM Nehru had followed the critics’ prescription, we would have had no nuclear and space research programmes, steel mills, large dams or many of the existing government buildings! Even the India-China war  ..
 
Related, an eminent economist has contended that it is “callous” to launch CVP in the midst of Covid pandemic when the country needs fiscal resources to help the poor and combat shortages of medical supplies. This is an equally spurious argument. For the sum of Rs 1,339 crore, devoted to the first phase of CVP, has in no way compromised the financial resources available for combating shortages of medical supplies or protecting the poor. If we have had to struggle for medical supplies during the  ..
 
Activists also contend that the project would lead to the demolition of many iconic buildings. But here the government has unequivocally stated that none of the heritage buildings including India Gate, Parliament House, North and South Blocks and National Archives is slated for demolition. Demolition or redevelopment is limited strictly to buildings constructed in the 1950s or later.
 
On a visit to Patna in 2016, I had a chance to visit Patna Museum. I was completely blown away by its rich collection of sculptures and other artifacts from ancient India. One regret I carried back with me, however, was the poor display of this national wealth. In contrast to the museums in Washington DC, London and Paris, priceless artifacts were displayed entirely exposed and crammed in small rooms.
 
In 2019, I had the good fortune to pass through Patna once again. I used the few hours at my disposal to visit the newly built Bihar Museum. Once again, I was blown away but this time not by the artifacts, most of which I had seen before, but by their superb display. We now had a museum that rivaled the best in the world in display and arguably beat them in content.
 
I mention this experience because CVP proposes to do for the National Museum, National Archives and IGNCA what Bihar Museum has done for the exquisite artifacts originally housed in Patna Museum. The project will provide homes to the collections of these institutions that would be spacious and accessible to all to benefit from.
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