The iconic North and South Blocks will be turned into grand museums under the proposed redevelopment plan of Parliament and revamp of Central Vista. The National Museum will also be moved into these buildings.

As per the initial plan, South Block will reflect the country’s history till 1857 while North Block will showcase the history after 1857. At present, the South Block houses the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of External Affairs, while the North Block has offices of Home Ministry and Finance Ministry.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is yet to take a final decision on the proposal, which is part of the new plan prepared by the HCP Design Planning and Management.

The firm has made a presentation on the redevelopment of Parliament and revamp of Central Vista in Lutyens’ Delhi.

North and South Blocks are the symbol of British Raj and it reflects the Central Government authority since their inception. North and South Blocks were built on top of Raisina Hill in 1931. Designed by Herbert Baker, one of Britain’s most distinguished architects of the early 20th Century, the two impressive Secretariat buildings flank Rashtrapati Bhavan on each side. South Block is an intricate labyrinth of vaulted staircases and high ceiling passages. Colonnades and flat roofs, dominated by huge domes, are striking features of the building.

Both these buildings have four levels, each with about 1,000 rooms, in the inner courtyards to make space for future expansions. In continuation with the Viceroy’s House, these buildings also used cream and red Dholpur sandstone from Rajasthan, with the red sandstone forming the base. Together the buildings were designed to form two squares.

They have broad corridors between different wings and wide stairways to the four floors and each building is topped by a giant dome, while each wings end with colonnaded balcony.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and residence and the Vice President’s house will have to be shifted to make space for the proposed Central Vista redevelopment plan. The plan also envisages a new triangular structure for the new Parliament, which will come up beside the existing one.

The PM’s residence will move from 7 Lok Kalyan Marg to near the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The PMO, too, will move from the Central Secretariat to a place closer to the proposed new residence of the PM. The main purpose is to reduce the distance between the PMO and PM’s residence and also make for efficient VVIP security arrangement besides avoiding traffic bottlenecks.