Seeking to counter the Opposition, especially Congress’ unrelenting criticism of the under-construction Central Vista project amid the pandemic, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on Sunday came out with a document titled “Myths and Realities”, wherein it talked about the funds for the project and environmental issues surrounding it among others.
Rebutting the Opposition charge that the Centre was spending Rs 20,000 crore on the ambitious project and the funds could have instead been utilized to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ministry said: “Till date, only two projects of New Parliament Building with tendered cost Rs 862 crore and Redevelopment of Central Vista Avenue with tendered cost Rs 477 crore have been awarded and works are underway. Expenditure incurred on these 2 projects till March 2021 is Rs 195 crore and budget provision for 2021-22 is Rs 790 crore.”
The ministry said that the redevelopment plan was envisaged in 2019 much before the outbreak of the pandemic. It is a generational infrastructure investment project, involving multiple projects spread over six years and the Rs 20,000 crore being talked about is a gross rough estimate of all the planned development/redevelopment works, the Ministry maintained.
It also rubbished the reports that Rs 13,450 crore is being incurred on new house for Prime Minister. The estimate includes multiple projects, including 10 buildings, the ministry said, adding that the construction work for the Prime Minister’s residence has not yet been tendered and no sanction has been accorded by the Government. “The cost for the PM’s residential complex has been mischievously exaggerated in media,” the ministry said.
Further, the ministry rejected the charge of diverting funds from public healthcare and Covid-19 response to the Central Vista Project. The ministry said that in Union Budget 2020-21, there was a 137 percent increase from previous year’s budget estimate in allocation for public healthcare and well-being expenditure.
“Rs 35,000 crore of the annual allocation has been allocated as a one-time grant towards Covid-19 vaccination, significantly more than the cost of the Central Vista redevelopment project. Thus, the one-time amount for vaccination for FY 2021-22 is 175% more than the total budget for the Central Vista project, which is expected to be completed by 2026,” the ministry said.
Union Minister for housing and urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri had recently lashed out at the Congress for its “bizarre” objections.
Amid demands for stopping the work, the Ministry said that doing so at this stage will entail creating liabilities for the government under the existing contracts and the workers’ interest. It also cited inflation as a key issue if the project is delayed.
Justifying the need for a new Parliament house, the Ministry said that the present Parliament House, completed in 1927, was never designed to accommodate a bicameral legislature for a full-fledged democracy and it is already highly stressed. “If the strength of the Parliament is increased after the freeze on its expansion lifts in 2026, it will be necessary to ensure that Parliament House has the facilities for a larger Parliament to function,” the ministry’s release said.