Row over nod for new PM home amid Covid-19 pandemic

The EAC has already granted clearance for expansion and renovation of the existing Parliament building, part of the Rs 13,450-crore Central Vista Redevelopment Project

The green light to build brand new residential quarters for the Prime Minister in the middle of the raging Covid-19 pandemic has triggered a political row, with the Congress questioning the priorities of the Narendra Modi government.

The Environment Appraisal Committee (EAC) recently granted clearance for redevelopment of the common central secretariat buildings and the prime minister’s residence, which would be ready by December next year.

“At a time when people are struggling with shortages of medicines, oxygen, vaccines, hospital beds, it would be better if the government spends Rs 13,000 crore on equipment to save peoples’ lives, instead of a new home for the Prime Minister,” Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said.

“Such expenses give a message to the people that the government’s priorities lie elsewhere,” Priyanka said.

The EAC, under the Ministry of Environment, has already granted the clearance for the expansion and renovation of the existing Parliament building, which is part of the Rs 13,450-crore Central Vista Redevelopment Project.

Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi said the amount spent on the Central Vista redevelopment could help fully vaccinate 45 crore Indians, or help procure one crore oxygen cylinders, or give two crore families minimum income support of Rs 6,000.

“But, PM’s ego is bigger than people’s lives,” Rahul said.

The CPWD informed the EAC that the Common Central Secretariat (CCS) will consolidate all ministries and improve the productivity and efficiency of the administration. It said the CCS buildings will be ready by May 2023.

The panel directed the CPWD to ensure that the green area – of 81,229 sq meters – be provided according to the details in the project document.

The redevelopment project of the Central Vista envisages a new triangular Parliament building, a Common Central Secretariat and the revamping of the three-km-long Rajpath from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate and new residences for the prime minister and the vice-president.

The construction work on the project has been exempted from the strict curbs in place in the national capital as part of Covid-19 management protocols.