The project involves tearing down and rebuilding several government buildings, including iconic landmarks, and constructing a new Parliament at a total cost of Rs 20,000 crore. The construction of the Prime Minister and Vice President’s residences is likely to be over by 2022.
At a time when most activities have stopped amidst the second wave of COVID-19, the Central Vista project, an ambitious project of Prime Minister Modi’s government was classified as ‘essential service’ last week, and the work for the same is continuing in full force. On Tuesday, a plea was filed in the Delhi High Court to stop the construction work since it has the potential to be a super-spreader. The HC posted the matter for May 17.
The project consists of the redevelopment of a 3.2-km stretch called the Central Vista that lies at the heart of Lutyens Delhi built by the British in the 1930s. It involves tearing down and rebuilding several government buildings, including iconic landmarks, and constructing a new Parliament at a total cost of Rs 20,000 crore. The construction of the Prime Minister and Vice President’s residences is likely to be over by 2022.
A plea was also filed by the same petitioners, Anya Malhotra, a translator, and Sohail Hashmi, a historian and documentary filmmaker in the Supreme Court on Wednesday suspend all construction activity of the Central Vista Avenue Redevelopment Project in compliance with orders issued by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority during the subsistence of the peak phase of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
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According to TOI, The Supreme Court said, “We’ll see it.” However, it didn’t give a date for the hearing of the matter. It asked the petitioner’s lawyer to first circulate the case details to parties and file for a hearing before it the appeal filed against yesterday’s Delhi High Court’s order over the plea.
The decision of the government to continue the construction of this ambitious project has invited heavy criticism, especially at a time when India’s healthcare system has collapsed and there’s a massive shortage of oxygen and other COVID-19 medications.
Meanwhile, India reported 4,12,262 cases and 3980 deaths in the last 24 hours, its highest since the beginning of the pandemic.
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