PM Modi may inaugurate Vista Avenue next week

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to inaugurate in September the revamped Central Vista Avenue, a part of the Union government’s ambitious Central Vista Redevelopment project, people aware of the matter said on Tuesday, adding that the event is likely to be held between September 8 and 10.

Originally scheduled to be completed by the end of 2021, the Central Vista Avenue’s work is now complete and Union housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri reviewed the progress on Tuesday morning during a site visit, one of the people aware of the matter said, asking not to be named.

The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) began work on the Avenue in February 2021.

“The work is over. This will be the first of the four projects (that are under construction) to be completed as part of the Central Vista redevelopment project. The PM is likely to inaugurate the redeveloped Avenue. The planning for the event is being done at present,” said the first official, asking not to be named.

A person in the Prime Minister’s Office said there was no information to share at the time.

The Avenue is the 1.8-km stretch of the Rajpath and the lawns flanking it, between India Gate and the Vijay Chowk. The work has involved construction of four pedestrian underpasses, eight amenity blocks, relaying of Rajpath, construction of pathways along it and in the lawns, improving canals and building 16 permanent bridges over it, and the construction of underground utility ducts for electric and other cables.

CPWD officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said work was delayed due to several factors, including damage to newly installed systems during the Republic Day celebrations this year for which special arrangements had to be made.

“We had to stop construction work, move all machinery out of the site, and make temporary arrangements for the Republic Day parade. The avenue was dug up at some locations to repair the damage caused to the water sprinkling system due to the movement of heavy vehicles during the preparation of the parade. Construction work at the underpasses and amenities was also not completed by then,” a senior CPWD official said, asking not to be named.

The major construction work, the official added, was completed prior to the parade in January but work at the underpasses, amenity blocks and the two plazas at C-hexagon at India Gate were completed only recently.

According to a second CPWD official, the Avenue lawns have been redone and pathways along the Rajpath and across the lawns have been paved with granite in the Lakha red colour. The heritage light poles along Rajpath have been refurbished, new light poles near the lawns and canals have been installed, and new signages have been put in place for better directions.

A total of 16 permanent bridges have been constructed over the canals for cross connectivity between the lawns on either side and close to 300 CCTV cameras have been put up in the area, the person added.

A key component is the underground utility duct network. “Provisions for all new underground utilities are in place. These utilities can be used for power supply, public announcement systems, Parade Control System etc during Republic Day parades,” said this person, asking not to be named.

After the Avenue, which is at the heart of the ₹608-cr redevelopment project, the next component scheduled for completion is the new Parliament Building, where the winter session of the Parliament is likely to be held, the first official quoted above said.

In a written response to a question in Lok Sabha earlier this month, minister of state for housing and urban affairs Kaushal Kishore told lawmakers that the new Parliament building will be ready by November 2022, while the three common central secretariat buildings will be ready by December 2023.

The junior minister said the construction work of the common central secretariat buildings, which started last year, is 17% complete while the Vice President’s enclave is 24% complete, and work on that will finish by January 2023.

The work for the construction of the executive enclave, which will house the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), India House, Cabinet Secretariat, and National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), is yet to be awarded. Last month, Hyderabad-based DEC Infrastructure and Projects emerged as the lowest bidder for the project.