Centre to respond on altering land use of bus depot, park for Central Vista revamp

The petition was filed by lawyer Rajeev Suri, who had earlier challenged the clearances given for the Central Vista project, resulting in an elaborate judgment of the top court in January that allowed the government to proceed with the construction

The Supreme Court on Monday sought a response from the central government on a petition questioning the change of land use of a public park and a bus depot in the national capital’s Central Vista to build residences of the Prime Minister and the Vice President.

The Central Vista project includes building a new Parliament that would seat 1,200 members of both Houses, and 10 buildings that will house 51 ministries. (PTI File)

The petition was filed by lawyer Rajeev Suri, who had earlier challenged the clearances given for the Central Vista project, resulting in an elaborate judgment of the top court in January that allowed the government to proceed with the construction.

The Central Vista project includes building a new Parliament that would seat 1,200 members of both Houses, and 10 buildings that will house 51 ministries.

The January judgment did not deal with the change of land use of plot number 1, the land meant for the residences of the Prime Minister and the Vice President, which was approved on October 10, 2020.

The Prime Minister’s residence will be built behind the South Block, while the Vice President’s residence will be located behind the North Block. These areas are now used as a public park and a bus depot. The petition questioned the change of land use from part recreational to residential, resulting in a loss of public recreational space for citizens.

A bench of justices AM Khanwilkar and CT Ravikumar issued a notice to the Centre. “The petitioner wishes to pursue only one contention, namely, before modification of the plan concerning plot No. 1, it had provided for public recreational area also, as noticed from the public notice. However, now that has been completely done away with and the land use stands converted to residential only.”

The central government will file an affidavit in three days, solicitor general Tushar Mehta said. Posting the matter for Friday, the bench said, “The respondents may file a short affidavit to deal with this contention…including to justify the necessity for such modification.”

The petitioner informed the court that the land at plot number 1 has a facility for transportation spread across nine acres, while the park consists of six acres, which will be lost to the residences.

The bench asked the Centre whether any alternate recreational space has been considered while acquiring the present plot. “From the petition it is clear that the public recreational area is not available now. Are you giving it up completely or is it being shifted to any other place?” the bench asked.

“If Parliament is coming up nearby, from the security point of view, there cannot be any recreational spot,” Mehta said, arguing for the government.

The work on the new Parliament will be completed before India’s 75th Independence Day next year, according to estimates by the Central Public Works Department.

The Central Secretariat complex will be built by 2024. The residence of the Prime Minister, along with a building to house the special protection group will be completed by December next year, while work on the Vice President’s house is expected to completed by May 2022.