The Modi government’s ambitious Central Vista project on Tuesday received a nod by the Supreme Court, and the grand project is now all set to take off. A number of pleas by anti-development crusaders and vested interest groups were filed before the Supreme Court to stall the Central Vista project on multiple counts. However, now that the Supreme Court has given the final go-ahead for the project, India is all set to receive a new Parliament building by 2022, and a new Central Secretariat by 2024.
The 2:1 verdict in favour of the project has come as a huge shock for liberals, who will now have to witness the last remaining sights of socialist colonialism blasted before their very eyes. Meanwhile, Hardeep Singh Puri, whose Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry is executing the ambitious project, said the government would continue to adhere to the highest standards during the period of construction. The Minister also welcomed the Supreme Court’s verdict which upheld the environmental clearance and notification for change in land use for the Central Vista project.
Delhi is on course to becoming a World Class capital city and in the first step by the time nation completes 75 years of its Independence in 2022 a new Parliament building will be ready reflecting the aspirations of new India.
— Hardeep Singh Puri (मोदी का परिवार) (@HardeepSPuri) January 5, 2021
The country’s top court also added that approval from the Heritage Conservation Committee will be needed when construction work for the project is to begin. Additionally, the apex court stated that the recommendations of environmental clearance by the Ministry of Environment were just, valid and proper, which is why the three-judge bench upheld the same. The Supreme Court directed Central Vista project stakeholders to use eco-friendly construction material, and install smog towers at regular intervals in and around the project to keep a check on pollution.
Read more: First Central Vista and now Louis Kahn Plaza in IIM-A: India’s nostalgia is sometimes really stupid
Read more: Get over the nostalgia of British era edifices, Delhi is going to change right before your eyes
Almost immediately, a tsunami of gloom could be seen on Twitter, where liberals took to sharing their frustration at the top court of the country for giving the go-ahead to the project. The already existing structures in Central Vista, according to alleged journalist Swati Chaturvedi are ‘beautiful’, while Mr. Srivatsa deemed it fit to remark that the Supreme Court had given a clean chit to the project only so that Prime Minister Modi could get a fancy house for himself. Shama Mohamad, meanwhile, felt that the Supreme Court clearance for Central Vista’s revamp was a ‘travesty’, at a time when the government should be focussed on vaccination alone.
Anyone surprised? The destruction of the beautiful central vista gets a legal stamp https://t.co/NNsqcWvYuw
— Swati Chaturvedi (@bainjal) January 5, 2021
To uphold the 'Personal Liberty' of Modiji so that he can build himself a fancy new house & office, SC has swiftly given clean chit to ₹20,000 crore Central Vista Project.
— Srivatsa (@srivatsayb) January 5, 2021
SC gives go ahead for #CentralVista Project. It is a travesty that when the govt's priority should have been to vaccinate every Indian as soon as possible, it prefers to splurge taxpayer money on a Rs 20,000 cr vanity project which won't benefit the common man in the slightest!
— Dr. Shama Mohamed (@drshamamohd) January 5, 2021
Supreme Court gives go ahead to the Central Vista project by 2 to 1 majority judgment. Ye to hona hi tha. Who can stand up to the Bahubali?
— Yashwant Sinha (@YashwantSinha) January 5, 2021
Those who have been inside India’s existing parliament know that it does not represent a new and infrastructurally advancing India. Similarly, the scattered government offices, ministries and departments across North and South blocks make it a hassle for bureaucratic requirements to be fulfilled seamlessly. The existing buildings between Rashtrapati Bhavan and India Gate, furthermore, reek of a colonial construct, which should have no place in the new India we live in.
As such, the Central Vista project was long overdue, and the building of a new Parliament, Central Secretariat, apart from revamping the entire stretch from Rashtrapati Bhawan to India Gate will truly represent a resurgent and new India, one which embraces its ancient civilizational roots instead of admiring dilapidated buildings built by foreigners.