Central Vista Avenue

In News

• Recently, the Prime Minister unveiled the new look of the revamped Central Vista Avenue, the 3-km stretch from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to the India Gate.
  • PM also said that the Kingsway or Rajpath which was the symbol of slavery has become a matter of history and has been erased forever.

About the recent event 

• Statue of Subhas Chandra Bose
  • Referring to the statue of King George V which once adorned the Grand Canopy has now been replaced by a 28-feet statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. 
    • Netaji’s statue is like Praan Pratishtha of a new India.
    • Andaman Islands were also recently renamed after Netaji Bose.
• Chhatrapati Shivaji’s symbol
  • The Indian Navy has also adopted Chhatrapati Shivaji’s symbol and shed the symbol of ghulaami. 

Central Vista Redevelopment Project

• The project aims for an integrated administration block and synergised functioning of ministries presently spread across 47 buildings in the region, and in particular, the Central Secretariat block.
• It seeks to build a new Parliament house, a new residential complex, which would house the Prime Minister and the Vice President besides several new office buildings including the North and South Block buildings.
• It will cover a 3-km stretch from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate in Lutyens’ Delhi.
  • The Parliament House, the Rashtrapati Bhavan and the secretariat that includes both north and south block were designed by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker.

New Parliament

• It will be three times bigger than the existing 93-year-old heritage building.
• It is likely to have a triangular shape with a built-up area of 65,000 sq.m. and is scheduled to be completed in 2022, in time for the 75th Independence Day celebrations and the Global G-20 summit.

Significance 

• The present Parliament building is 85-year-old and suffers from inadequacy of space to house members and their staff.
• It suffers from structural issues and the building needs to be protected because of its heritage, it is a major attraction for the tourists who visit the country.
• The new Parliament building will have high-quality acoustics and audio-visual facilities, improved and comfortable seating arrangements, effective and inclusive emergency evacuation provisions, with high-level security for the members.
• Central Vista is an essential ingredient of sovereignty and pride, and also where recreational spaces are available for enjoyment by the citizens. 

Major Concerns Highlighted 

• Lack of transparency: In the ‘re-development of the Central Vista, the entire matter has been formed in secrecy and opacity.
  • Several key approvals for the proposed Parliament building have been pushed during the lockdown which led to allegations of a lack of transparency.
• Environment clearance: Many opposition and environmentalists point out concerns related to the lack of studies to ascertain the need for the project and its impact on the environment, traffic and pollution.
• Financial burden: The ambitious project, costing Rs 20,000 crore and  It came when the country is battling the COVID-19 pandemic and is staring at a serious economic crisis.
  • The failure of the public health facilities to cope with the increasing number of corona cases has highlighted the limitations of investing in infrastructure projects at the cost of the health sector

Source: IE