New PMO to be built under Central Vista project

The prime minister's new residential complex will have 10 four-storey buildings with a maximum height of 12 metres, according to the government's latest proposal for the redevelopment of Central Vista. The Central Public Works Department (CPWD), which is executing the project, has revised the estimated cost from Rs 11,794 crore to Rs 13,450 crore.

New Delhi: The prime minister's new residential complex will have 10 four-storey buildings with a maximum height of 12 metres, according to the government's latest proposal for the redevelopment of Central Vista.

Official sources said that there is "no question of dropping" the proposed new Prime Minister's Office (PMO) from the Central Vista Redevelopment project, after the CPWD did not mention the same in its new proposal before an expert panel of the Ministry of Environment and Forest.

The Central Public Works Department (CPWD), which is executing the project, has revised the estimated cost from Rs 11,794 crore to Rs 13,450 crore.

The prime minister's new residence will be built on a 15-acre plot and it will have 10 buildings and they will have ground plus three floors, the CPWD said in its proposal.

Permissible ground coverage at the prime minister's new residence would be 30,351 square metre, it stated, adding that a building for the Special Protection Group will come up on a 2.50-acre plot.

The Central Vista Redevelopment project also includes the new Vice President's Enclave which will be built on 15-acre land and will have five-storey buildings with a maximum height of 15 metres, the CPWD said in its proposal.

The VP Enclave will have 32 buildings.

Reacting to the CPWD's move to drop the proposed new Prime Minister's Office in its latest proposal, Kanchi Kohli, legal researcher, Centre for Policy Research, said that the documents submitted to the Environment Ministry do not give any justification on why some plots or offices have been excluded or why the costs have increased despite such exclusions.

READ: India's HDI rank slips to 131, report sheds light on lower fertility rates

"But equally important is the CPWD's answer to whether any alternatives to the present proposal were considered is a “No”. The study of such alternatives is required to be done before seeking environment clearance," Kohli said.

The CPWD's proposal for terms of reference, which is a step before the environment clearance, was discussed by the Environment Ministry expert appraisal committee (EAC) on Thursday.

The EAC had approved the CPWD's proposal to construct a new Parliament Building earlier this year.

The redevelopment project of Central Vista -- the nation's power corridor -- also envisages a new triangular Parliament building, a common central secretariat and revamping of the three-km-long Rajpath, from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate.

PTI