The Rs 20,000 crore Central Vista project in Delhi is set to continue amid the second wave of Covid-19, as it has been declared under the "essential service" category.
In a week, Delhi has seen over 2,267 coronavirus deaths, with a significant number of deaths due to oxygen shortage and unavailability of beds.
Considering the number of rising coronavirus cases, the Delhi government has decided to shut the national capital for a week, but the Central Vista project, also known as the Rajpath redevelopment project, will not be stalled.
As per the guidelines issued by the government, only those construction projects that have workers staying on the site are permitted to operate in Delhi. However, an exception has been made for the Central Vista project, which has been declared an "essential service" by the government.
The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) recently wrote to the Delhi Police saying that the project is of time-bound nature and is to be completed before 30 November 2021, and therefore, the project is to be continued during all three shifts. On April 19, when Delhi went into a week lockdown, the Deputy Commissioner of police for New Delhi issued movement passes for 180 vehicles engaged in the project work to operate during the lockdown. The deputy commissioner's letter also stated that the movement passes had been granted in the "essential services" category.
The construction of the Central Vista project began in January this year, and the CPWD is executing this project. The redevelopment project of the Central Vista, the nation's power corridor, envisages a new triangular Parliament building, a common central secretariat, and revamping of the 3 km long Rajpath from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate.
Apart from the Parliament building, the project will also redevelop the Central Vista Avenue, while the work on the new Secretariat buildings is yet to start.
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