The Central Vista project being initiated by the Modi government is drawing sharp criticism, and correctly so. This is mostly going unnoticed in the present scenario of COVID-related lockdown and social and mental paralysis but needs serious attention and public intervention if only to avert an unwelcome scenario. The main aim of the project in the national capital is to build a new Parliament House along with a Central Secretariat and other constructions in the central part of what is known as Lutyen’s Delhi. This is not the time for huge spends on such projects. The nation is caught in a deep social crisis, and the economy is hit hard. Now is time to focus and salvage the situation and use the limited resources in more accountable and meaningful manners.
Feelings are strong that the Central Vista project is part of an obsession to obliterate the past, and establish new legacies in place of the old and even demolish the revered monuments of the past. In this project, to be executed at a huge cost of Rs 20,000 crore, there are provisions for an official residence for Prime Minister and Vice President, and all these are planned to be erected along the Rajpath, the elegant three-km plus stretch touching Rashtrapati Bhavan on one side and India Gate on the other. No one seems to be impressed by the project sketch and the whole concept is seen as old-fashioned and prompted by personal motives. It may be worthwhile that dignitaries as the PM and VP already have extremely spacious and luxurious abodes in the heart of New Delhi.
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India’s Parliament House, existing for nearly a century being constructed in the year 1927, is unique in its architectural styles and appearance. The round-shaped red stone building spread out on an expansive landscape has a great dignity and class of its own, though it may have problems of space, as also of wear and tear. It was a year ago that the proposal for a new Parliament building was brought up formally and Prime Minster Narendra Modi is keen on taking the matter forward despite the present economic downturn. Calls from the principal Opposition, reflected in a proposal from UPA chief Sonia Gandhi are to abandon or hold back the project and use the money for economic revival or a special package seems justified. However, the project is going ahead, and the Supreme Court has refused to stall it. The final nod from the Central Vista panel has come and the environment ministry too has given its green signal. If this does get through, imagine a new New Delhi built and designed exclusively by Central Public Works Department (CPWD) engineers. These people are well known for their ways and means of getting works executed.
The sketches in public circulation about the Central Vista plan are not drawing praise and look awful. In the least, the triangular-shaped new building complex will not have an inspiring look and not match up to the grandeur of the present buildings. It is also feared that this ill-timed project would rob the scenic area of its green cover; and fears are that these could add to the central city’s congestion. Altogether 10 buildings are planned in the area, and there is no explanation as to what would be done with the present parliament house building and the central secretariat. Most likely, they would be termed as being anti Hindoo culture and razed to the ground. This may remind some of the Taliban’s reaction to the Bamiyan Buddha statue.
Change is in the scheme of the universe. At the same time, what would come as a replacement even in future, not in these difficult times, should be more impressive, world class and sit pretty on the capital’s central land-space. The present idea needs to be shelved altogether.
Almost everyone can agree that this is not the time to go about spending a huge sum on such fancies. The perception that the prime minister is bent on implementing the project now itself so as to leave a lasting legacy on the nation and the capital is strengthening. The project is scheduled for completion by year 2024, before the term of the present government ends.
A natural tendency on the part of this government is to lay excessive emphasis on the so called past mistakes and take pride in the idea of Bharat, as BJP’s ideological grandmaster the RSS keeps exhorting the nation. The world has grown beyond recognition over the years and the current pandemic is bound to change situations drastically thereby making it difficult for those who survive to recognize it. New concepts are overtaking the obsessions of the past.
Alongside the New Delhi project is the Union ministry of Urban Development’s insistence on the idea of pushing central vista projects for 17 states including Odisha. A similar administrative set-up is envisaged for these states, including the several north-eastern states which are lacking in governmental infrastructure. If all these are planned and executed based on the whims and fancies of a select few, the result will be disappointing. In a democracy political parties come and go and leadership changes. It is important that the trust the people reposed in a government should not be squandered for individual gains or prestige.
