Central Vista Project: Centre forms 'Oversight Committee' to expedite project completion

The Union Government on Saturday formed a five-member high-level 'Central Vista Oversight Committee' in a bid to monitor and ensure timely completion of the Modi government's one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects aimed at revamping the Central Vista or Rajpath in the Delhi.

The panel which has been set for a period of two years headed by former Finance Secretary Ratan P. Watal will be responsible for expediting the pace of the work while ensuring the best quality output. Other delegates in the committee include Deputy CAG PK Tiwari, former Director of L&T Shailendar Roy, IIT Delhi professor Mausam and a Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs as the convenor.

"As the project moves forward, complexities in the implementation are likely to increase. Further, various aspects relating to the project, including development of cultural spaces and seamless coordination between various stakeholders would need close oversight," the order issued by the Directorate of Estate under the Urban Affairs Ministry said.

Committee to regularly inspect site, submit report

The Oversight Committee will ensure multi-agency and stakeholder coordination for the integration of different works under the project, it stated. It will have to continuously monitor the pace of execution of various projects of Central Vista with respect to targeted milestones to ensure their timely completion, the order further noted.

The committee will meet regularly and undertake site inspections for an independent review. It has also been directed to submit its report and recommendations to the ministry regularly.

Work on Central Vista at full pace

The project was announced in 2019 and the foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2020. The new Parliament building is expected to be completed by the winter session of 2022. Construction work of the Vice President's enclave is also expected to finish soon. Also, Central Vista Avenue is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

The project is presently directly reviewed regularly by Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Puri, Housing Ministry, and senior officials of the Central Public Works Department (CPWD). The CPWD had on November 9 sought buds for the construction of the Executive Enclave that will house the PMO, India House, Cabinet Secretariate and the National Security Council Secretariate at a cost of Rs 1,171 Crore.

"Central Vista Project has been envisaged as a state-of-the-art integrated development re-development project comprising a new building for the Parliament, Common Central Secretariat buildings, Executive Enclave, additional buildings for National Archives, new IGNCA building, etc.

It is an important building project in the country which would recast, rebuild and modernize Government of India’s infrastructure and streamline and synergize administrative functioning in Central Government within the tight time frames," the order said.

Inputs: PTI

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