(This article was originally published on 9 March 2020. It has been reposted from The Quint’s archives in the backdrop of Supreme Court’s scheduled verdict on several petitions that challenge the redevelopment of New Delhi's Central Vista area on Tuesday, 5 January.)
Reviewing the government’s proposal to redevelop the Central Vista of New Delhi as an exclusive government office zone – which includes a new Parliament as well as new residences for the PM and the Vice President – the whole issue seems still more tangled.
As a nationwide collective of concerned citizens from diverse walks of life, we have been examining this matter at great depth for the last few months. And given the paucity of information available to the public, we feel it is necessary to highlight various diverse and seemingly unconnected factors. These may seem like technical matters but need to be highlighted for the general understanding of the people of India.
To an extent, we feel even the government has not been fully apprised of the ramifications of this project by the bureaucrats and technocrats who may have devised this grandiose and unworkable project. It is not likely that any government would endanger its popularity through a scheme which will cause pain to many – and may seem doomed to fail.