The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is clearing over 700 hutments around Dalhousie Road in Delhi, and the space will be developed for the Prime Minister’s new residence and office as part of the Central Vista Redevelopment project.
Close to 7,000 ministry officials will now have new offices on Kasturba Gandhi Marg in Central Delhi and Africa Avenue near Chanakyapuri. On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate the two complexes.
According to information, over 50 acres vacated near South Block will be used to develop the Central Vista Project’s “Executive Enclave.”
Apart from the PM’s residence, the new Executive Enclave will house the Cabinet Secretariat and other senior officers’ offices.
All of the hutments near Dalhousie Road will be demolished over the next two months, and the new offices will be permanent, according to a senior government official.
Over 7,000 officers and staff from 27 different organisations – attached offices of the Defence Ministry, service headquarters, and other subordinate offices – are being relocated, according to him.
The new MoD complex on Africa Avenue in Chanakyapuri is a seven-story structure that will house only defence ministry offices. The other office in Central Delhi, however, will be an eight-story building shared by Parivahan Bhawan and Shram Shakti Bhavan until their new offices at the Central Secretariat Complex are operational.
The new structures will also include modern amenities, connectivity, and welfare facilities such as canteens, banks, and so on. These buildings’ locations and spaces have been carefully planned so that they do not interfere with the pre-existing trees.
The KG Marg complex will be used to relocate 14 different offices totaling 4.52 lakh square feet as part of the plan.
Thirteen offices with a total built-up area of 5.08 lakh square feet are being relocated to Africa Avenue, according to officials, who added that these office complexes are being built at a cost of 775 crore provided by the Defence Ministry.
“The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development completed the work as part of their Central Vista project.” In addition to office space for officers and staff, these complexes have multi-level parking for over 1,500 cars, according to an official.
Work on the new Parliament is currently underway at Rajpath as part of the Central Vista Redevelopment project. While the Parliament building is expected to be completed by 2022, in time for the 75th anniversary of India’s independence, Central Vista Avenue is expected to be completed by January 26th, 2022.