New Delhi: The central government has decided to redevelop the central vista in New Delhi, including Parliament and Rajpath, and develop a Common Central Secretariat for various ministries. The Rs 12,450 crore project will take at least four years to complete.
The development or redevelopment of Parliament will be done by August 2022 when India celebrate's its 75th Independence Day. By next year, the Central Vista will be redeveloped and the common Central Secretariat will be built by 2024, as per plan.
On the cost of the project, the Union housing and urban affairs minister said usually, the consultation fee is around three per cent of the total project cost.
However, sources in the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) said the project cost may increase due to different aspects.
The minister, however, made it clear that the facade of the 90-year-old Parliament building, and North and South blocks, which are heritage buildings, will not be touched while redeveloping the Central Vista, an over three-km stretch from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate in Lutyens' Delhi.
To facilitate the new Common Central Secretariat, several buildings such as the Shastri Bhawan, the Nirman Bhawan, the Krishi Bhawan and the Udyog Bhawan may be razed.The government has not taken a decision on it yet.
"It's a very a major project which will be executed on mission-mode... the time has now come to build modern, world-class, energy-efficient buildings which will be defining the characteristic of Delhi as a leading world capital for the next 200 years," Puri told reporters.
Sabarmati riverfront developer wins consultancy bid
Gujarat-based architecture firm HCP Designs has won the consultancy bid for the Centre's ambitious project, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Friday.
The firm, which will be paid Rs 229.75 crore for consultancy services, will prepare the master plan of the project, including designs, cost estimation, landscape and traffic integration plans, and parking facilities among others, he said at a press conference.
HCP Design, Planning and Management Pvt Ltd, based in Ahmedabad, is led by architect Bimal Patel and has developed several projects, including the Sabarmati Riverfront Development where Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently held a mammoth event to celebrate Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary.
It has also developed the Central Vista at Gandhinagar and the Mumbai Port Complex.
Puri, who was accompanied by ministry Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra and CPWD Director General Prabhakar Singh, said a total of six bids were received, and HCP Design's selection was made by a six-member jury led by Director of the School of Planning and Architecture P S N Rao.
Energy efficient project
He said that the revamp project will used the best technology to make Delhi a world-class city.
The minister said the government will go through public consultations till the tendering process for selecting a contractor is complete.
It will also engage various stakeholders such as heritage experts, urban and traffic specialists while executing the ambitious project of the Modi government, Puri said.
"At present, our government offices are strewn all over Delhi... We want all essential government offices at one place," Puri said, adding that the new buildings will be energy efficient and modern work places.
Besides HCP Design, Planning and Management Pvt. Ltd, five other firms -- CP Kukreja Architects, Sikka Associates Architects, INI Design Studio, Arcop Associates Pvt Ltd and Architect Haffez Contractor -- participated in the bidding process.
The ministry secretary said on Monday, he will call a meeting with those architecture firms which could not win consultancy bid and will get suggestions from them.
On his part, CPWD Director General Prabhakar Singh said while choosing the architecture firm, 80 per cent weightage was given to quality aspect and 20 per cent to financial aspects.
(With inputs from PTI.)
