South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has cleared a proposal to name its upcoming headquarters after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The decision was taken at the house meeting on Wednesday.
The office building is to be constructed by ‘National Buildings Construction Corporation ltd. (NBCC) near the WHO building in Pragati Maidan area. The civic body’s headquarters is currently in the Civic Centre building named after Shyama Prasad Mukherjee in central Delhi.
“The proposal was moved by South Delhi Mayor Narendra Chawla and cleared in the House,” the official said.
South Delhi Mayor Narender Chawla said that former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a great statesman, patriot, visionary and one of the tallest and uncontroversial leaders the country. “I had announced the decision earlier and today house cleared it, he said.
The leader of House Kamaljeet Sehrawat said that his political career has been a source of motivation for all. “The name of the new building would also inspire all employee and leaders to work following his footprint,” she said.
She further said that the contribution in building the nation was extraordinary and this step is just a small tribute to him.
Earlier the Mayor and other elected functionaries and members of SDMC paid their tributes to the departed leader.
They also appreciated Vajpayee’s efforts in enhancing the glory of India. The members also condoled the demise of Somnath Chatterjee, M. Karunanidhi, Balramji Dass Tandon, Sahib Singh Chauhan, R.K. Dhawan, Gurudas Kamat, Kuldeep Nayar, Ajit Wadekar and Vimal Khurana.
last year, the civic body signed an MOU with NBCC for construction of its headquarter building near Pragati Madian. The new swanky building will be constructed over 8.75 acre land.
It may be recalled that after trifurcation of erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi, no space for SDMC headquarters was allocated for the last five years, forcing the civic body to share space at the Civic Centre with the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NMC).
The Civic Centre which is the tallest building in the city comes under the jurisdiction of the NMC, which demands roughly Rs 200 crores for renting out space to the SDMC, a senior SDMC official said.
Former prime minister and BJP patriarch Vajpayee, one of India’s most charismatic leaders, died following prolonged illness on August 16 at AIIMS hospital. He was 93.