Amidst the catastrophic COVID-19 crisis in India, particularly Delhi, the construction work for Prime Minister’s dream project Central Vista is continue overriding lockdown protocols and is deemed as ‘essential service’, Scroll.in has reported on Tuesday.
On April 20, the Central government faced sharp criticism from the opposition and civic groups for inviting bids for the construction of three buildings as part of the Central Vistara project on the plot where the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts currently stands.
The Central Public Works Department, which is overseeing the project, requested police to allow the construction company to “ferry their workers to and fro from their labour camp at Sarai Kale Khan in their own buses during curfew period, according to Scroll report.
The project aims to reconstruct India’s administration buildings with a 3.2-km stretch called the Central Vista that lies at the heart of Lutyens Delhi built by the British. It involves tearing down and rebuilding several government buildings, including iconic landmarks, and constructing a new Parliament at a total cost of Rs 20,000 crore.
On January 5, the Supreme Court had given a go-ahead to the Central Vista project that envisages a new triangular parliament building, with a seating capacity for 900 to 1,200 MPs. The project is to be completed before November 30, 2021.
On the assurance of anonymity, workers told Scroll reporter many of them were unpaid. Shri Kumar Chauhan, who works at MV Constructions, told the news website the company had not paid him his monthly wages of Rs 12,000 since March. He says he’s eager to be with his family and vote for the upcoming panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh.
