Central Vista Conundrum

In continuation of last article on CENTRAL VISTA,this one is articulated keeping the importance of the edifice in mind amidst burgeoning population.

One of the major features of the Narendra Modi government has been the opposition the government has faced in almost each and every decision it has taken. Not just issues like Article 370 and triple talaq ban, the opposition parties and left-liberal ecosystem have also opposed important infrastructure projects like highway projects, bullet trains, railway network enhancement, seaport construction etc. One of such projects is the central vista project, including the construction of the new parliament building.

With PM Modi scheduled to conduct the Bhoomi Pujan for the new parliament building on 10th December, the usual suspects have started questioning the project. According to them, there is no need of a new parliament building, as the existing one is sufficient. While some of them are not questioning the need for the project, all of them are asking why now. According to them, including to the Congress party, when the economy is facing hardship and the country is facing a pandemic, the money earmarked for the central vista project should be diverted to social welfare.

Not just Left-liberals and opposition parties, many common people are also asking what is the need for a new parliament building when we already have one. They are asking this because they genuinely don’t know the reason. The article is an attempt to answer those questions, which is mainly based on a presentation by Bimal Patel, the chief architect of the project.

The Central Vista project

The Central Vista project involves the redevelopment of the area known as Central Vista Avenue, the area between the Rashtrapati Bhavan and the India Gate, where all the important buildings related to the union government are located. This project has two main parts, a new parliament building, and a new secretariat complex to bring all the central govt ministries in one place. A third part involves the development of the Rajghat and the area around it, which is available for the general public, including the development of public amenities. This project will involve demolition of some non-heritage buildings in the area, and construction of new buildings in place of them.

The Central Vista was designed by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker, to house the capital of British India. The top of the Raisina Hill and adjacent hills in the area was flattened to create space for the buildings. The original capital included the Viceroy’s House (Rashtrapati Bhawan), the two secretariate buildings (North Block and South Block), The Council House (Parliament House). The National Archive building further down the Rajpath was also built by Lutyens, known as Imperial Record Department at that time. The Rajpath was known as King’s way, and the Janpath was known as Queen’s way.

The entire area on both sides of the Rajpath was an open area, covered by gardens at that time, it didn’t have the various office buildings we see now. According to the original plan by Lutyens and Baker, several other buildings were to be built on that area, for both administrative and cultural purposes. But various reasons like budget constraints, the independence movement, war etc put a halt on the project in 1931, which was never resumed.

In 1947, the government of Independent India occupied the structures in the central vista for the capital. As the original British plan was incomplete, the Indian government later added several buildings for various ministries and departments. The central govt had allocated plots in the area to various ministries, and the ministries added their buildings as per their choice, with no similarity with the existing heritage buildings.

While the original capital built by the British was sufficient for that time, it was not built for a country with 130 crore people. After a century, needs have arisen to add new structures, as the existing ones are no longer sufficient for India’s growing needs. To address these needs, the central vista development project has been envisioned. Now let’s examine each of the component of the project and their need in detail.

Why a new parliament building is needed

The most significant aspect of the project is the construction of a new parliament building. There are several reasons for needing a new building to house the two houses of the parliament. The most important one is, the impending expansion of the size of the parliament. Due to increased population, which have almost quadrupled since independence, there is a need to increase the number of Lok Sabha constituencies through delimitation.

According to the original plan, although the number of Lok Sabha members to remain constant, the number of MPs in states were to be changed every 10 years to reflect the change in population. This change was to ensure that every MP will represent an equal number of citizens. But when the govt of India adopted a policy of population control in 1970s, it posed a problem. If the number of seats was to be re-allocated to states according to population, states that failed to control population growth would be rewarded with more seats, while states that successful in population control program would be punished with lesser seats. This had also led to a North-South conflict, as Southern states were more successful in controlling population compared to Northern states.

Due to this anomaly, the number of Lok Sabha constituencies was frozen in 1976 up to 2001. When this 25-year term was over, it was again pushed back by 25 years, and now the next delimitation exercise is scheduled for 2026, which is fast approaching. With a 50 year-long freeze on the number of MPs, it is expected that it is not going to be postponed one more time. The number of states and the Indian population has increased a lot since 1976, and there is an urgent need to increase the number of Lok Sabha members so that each MP represents a manageable size of the population. It is speculated that the size of the Lok Sabha will be increased to more than 800 from the current strength of 543.

But there is a big problem before the Lok Sabha strength can be increased, the size of the Lok Sabha hall in the Parliament House. There are only 552 seats in the current house, with no scope for adding any new seat. In fact, the wall on the back of Lok Sabha was already taken down, and the corridor next to it was included the Lok Sabha hall to create more space for additional chairs for the MPs. Therefore, the strength of the Lok Sabha can’t be increased without creating space to accommodate all the MPs.

Similarly, the central hall of the parliament, used to hold joint sessions, actually does not have enough seats for the MPs of both houses. The Central hall has around 430 seats, less than the size of Lok Sabha. During joint sessions, temporary chairs are placed on the aisles so that all the members can sit. Certainly not a dignified scene for the parliament of the largest democracy of the world.

The Central hall also serves as the lounge of the parliament, as the building does not have any dedicated lounge for the members to spend their time outside session hours. It is notable that a lounge is not just a place for passing free time, it is also a place where informal discussions take place, networks are built etc. It is a very important place for discussing bills in an informal setting.

The sitting arrangement in all the houses in parliament are of bench type, with longer benches as one moves towards the back of the house. This means, when members enter or exit their place, they have to pass over other members sitting in the same bench. The members also don’t have any desk in front of them, except for the first two rows. From the third row onwards, microphones and voting panels are actually fitted on the backrests of the benches in front of the respecting benches. This is a very clumsy arrangement and does not offer any place for the members to keep their documents and other personal belongings.

Several newly built assembly houses in the country have sitting arrangements with two members per seat, with proper desks and tables. Even many schools and colleges in the country have abandoned benches and introduced single and twin sitting arrangements, but our Parliamentarians still seat on long benches with no desk at all.

Crumbling infrastructure inside Parliament House

The infrastructure of the parliament also antiqued, as they were added at various times as and when required. It has microphones that can’t be switched off, a very old electronic voting system etc. Although the parliament building looks magnificent from the outside, the same is not true about its inside. Due to drilling holes in the walls to run electrical and telecommunication lines, water and sewage pipes, air-conditioning ducts etc, it all looks a mess from inside. Such drillings have also weakened the structure a lot.

Along with that, the area around Delhi has become more earthquake-prone in recent times. But as the original drawings of the building are not available now, it not possible to certify the building as earthquake-proof now. It is notable here that two floors have been added on the top of the parliament building to make space for offices, and it has almost blocked the visibility of the central dome.Two floors were added to the top of the Parliament House later, blocking the view of the central dome. Due to these reasons, a pressing need was felt to construct a new parliament building. Once the new building is constructed, the old one will be retrofitted and retained as a heritage building. Some functions of the parliament will remain in this building after adequate improvements are made. This includes the library, the parliamentary committee rooms etc.

The need for Central Secretariate

The second part of the central vista project is the central secretariate, to house the offices of all ministries in one location. At present, the North Block and South Block houses some ministries, while several other buildings added later in the area hosts several other ministries. But despite that, a large number of ministry offices are located outside the central vista area, scattered across the city of Delhi.

Out of the 51 ministries of the union govt, which have around 51,000 employees, 22 ministries are located inside central vista, with around 41,000 employees. The remaining ministries and their around 10,000 employees are located outside this area. This causes lots of movement in the city contributing to traffic, and also causes waste of time in inter-ministerial works.

A large number of offices outside Central Vista are located in rented places. According to govt sources, an amount of around Rs 1000 crore is paid every year for the rents of ministry offices in private buildings. This cost is one of the major reasons of the Central Secretariate project.

The Central Vista area also houses several establishments that are not needed in the area. There are army barracks and defence offices where around 9000 defence personnel work.

Companies involved in the project

The master plan of the Central Vista project has been prepared by HCP Design, Planning and Management Pvt. Ltd, which had won the bid. The company is headed by renowned architect Bimal Patel, who has designed several public places, including the Sabarmati Riverfront at Ahmedabad, Central Vista project at Gandhinagar and the Mumbai Port Complex. Six companies had submitted bids, from which Patel’s company was selected.

Tata Projects has won the bid for constructing the new parliament building, quoting the lowest cost of Rs 861.9 crore. Seven companies had placed technical bids for the project, from which three were selected for financial bids, Tata Projects, L&T and Shapoorji Pallonji. Only the first two had submitted financial bids after it. The government has set a deadline of March 2022 for the project, in time for the celebration of 75 years of India’s independence.

Tenders for the rest of the project including the Central Secretariate have not been invited yet, as the govt is yet to decide on final shape of the project and demolition of existing buildings.