With the pandemic making lives difficult and hundreds dying each day in the country, the Indian government is speeding up the construction work of a new house for the Prime Minister calling it an “essential service”.
The new residence of the PM is ordered to be ready by December 2022 and is a part of the Central Vista project. With clearance from the environmental side, the construction has been accelerated with tight deadlines despite the majority of the activities being restricted in view of the pandemic.
While the set of restrictions imposed by the government refuse to allow a group of more than 50 even at weddings, the maximum permitted for any activity, the Centre has given a green signal for building the project that requires the manpower of 46,000 people. Opposition and social media are flooding objections for the Centre’s dream plan as that number of people can rightly induce more covid cases and deaths.
Terming it as essential, the construction work remained unstopped even during the lockdown that has stopped many from building their own houses. The Central government expressed its determination to go ahead with the renovation plan despite all the criticism it is facing.
As per the plan, one of the first complexes to be made ready by December 2022 is the PM’s house. Adding to the list of buildings to be constructed by the same time is the headquarters of the Special Protection Group for the PM’s security and an executive enclave for bureaucrats.
Opposed to its previous location of Race Course Road, the Prime Minister’s current official address is 7, Lok Kalyan Marg.
As for the Vice President, his residence is likely to be completed by May next year.
The total expected expenditure for constructing the new buildings is Rs. 13,450 crores- a figure that could immensely help the nation’s receding healthcare situation, according to angry social media users.
Since the inception of the reconstruction plan, opposition parties have lashed out at the government and slammed it for the same. The makeover of one of the most historic parts of the national capital for building a new parliament building, government offices, and PM’s residence also garnered major criticism from Indians on social media. Many also called out the government for setting their priorities wrong amid a deadly pandemic that has taken thousands of lives already and the country is in dire need of drugs, oxygen, and hospital beds to treat covid patients.
According to the government’s plan, the construction process of all the government buildings on the 4 kilometer stretch between the Rashtrapati Bhavan and India Gate has to be completed before the general elections of 2024.
Reacting to the plan, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted last week saying, “Central Vista- not essential. Central Govt with a vision- essential.”
None of the objections and criticism is affecting the Centre. It is infact defending the project calling it a necessity as the current buildings apparently cannot be repaired anymore. Supporting the plan is the Supreme Court as it refused to put a halt to the same. The top court gave the reason that the project did not violate environmental or land-use norms. However, one of the judges of the bench hearing the matter expressed his concern over the absence of public consultation.
