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Environmental Concerns Central Vista Project | Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate the Central Vista project today in Delhi. It will reopen Central Vista Avenue, which runs from Vijay Chowk to India Gate, after nearly two years of renovation and controversy.
The C-Hexagon will host the official opening ceremony. Many VVIPs and invited guests are anticipated for the event. As a part of the project, a new parliament building, a shared central secretariat, renovation of the 3-km Rajpath from Rashtrapati Bhavan to the India Gate, a new prime minister's office and house, and a new vice-president enclave are being developed. The central vista project has come under fire for reportedly running counter to the government's environmental policies.
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Environmental Concerns
The project has been criticized on the grounds that it has flouted environmental protocols. According to a rule announced by the government in December 2020,
the developmental agencies must transplant at least 80% of the trees impacted by their development operations.
After a year of tree transplantation, the benchmark tree survival rate is 80%. The Central Public Works Department (CPWD), the project's primary proponent, had voiced concerns regarding its plan to remove an "excessively high proportion" of trees from the site with the Delhi State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC), which reviews plans before they are referred to Delhi State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA). Currently, the SEIAA has also approved plans for the ‘Executive Enclave’, which would be the residence of the Prime Minister and cabinet secretariat.
The government has so far claimed that the Central Vista Redevelopment Project would increase the area's greenery by 5.4 acres for public use. Environmental experts, claimed that the Centre's extravagant plan to redevelop Central Vista was an attempt by the government to "pamper itself". The government has not taken into account the fact that it would result in the loss of a significant amount of green cover and pollute the air with dust from construction and demolition. This has been heightened in the context of the pandemic.
In May 2021, a statement opposing the initiative was submitted by about 65 organisations. The people urged the Modi administration to focus more of its efforts during the COVID-19 epidemic on improving the health sector rather than wasting all of its time on a vanity beautifying project that might be carried out in a more sustainable manner.
Conclusion
"The Government of India's Central Vista project continues to be 'work in progress at the expense of taxpayers' money and despite 10 comprehensive petitions ongoing before the Supreme Court of India," LokPATH wrote in a letter to Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar. The Central Vista project by the Indian government is still a "work in progress" despite eleven thorough petitions being filed at the Supreme Court of India, according to a letter from LokPATH to Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar.
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