Shastri Bhawan, Krishi Bhawan set to be demolished soon

The CPWD has begun demolishing Shastri and Krishi Bhawans for new buildings under the CCS project, part of the Central Vista redevelopment plan.

New Delhi

The demolitions are part of the Central Vista project. (Archive/PTI)

The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has started the process of demolishing Shastri Bhawan and Krishi Bhawan by floating tenders for the construction of the fourth and fifth buildings under the Common Central Secretariat (CCS) project at the site of the two buildings.

The project, estimated at ₹3,006 crore, involves building two secretariat blocks with a basement, ground and seven floors, along with associated civil, electrical, mechanical and landscaping works, according to the tenders published on Monday.

The demolition and reconstruction are part of the Central Vista redevelopment plan, consisting of 10 new CCS buildings along with two executive enclaves (PMO and PM’s residence). The new Parliament building, which hosted its first session in September 2023, the redevelopment of the Raj Path as Kartavya Path in September 2022, and the vice-president’s enclave in April 2024 are part of the same plan.

Shastri Bhawan and Krishi Bhawan were built in the post-Independence expansion phase of the Central Secretariat in the 1950s and 60s, to accommodate the growing administrative machinery of the Union government beyond the original North and South blocks.

Shastri Bhawan was named after former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, while Krishi Bhawan became the long-term headquarters of the Union ministry of agriculture. Over the past week, only the ministry of information and broadcasting, currently housed at Shastri Bhawan, was allocated space in Kartavya Bhawan 2—also known as CCS Building 2—along with the ministry of law and justice, the ministry of culture, ministry of chemicals and fertilizers, a section of the ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare, and the ministry of education.

The tender on Monday specifies a timeline of 24 months for execution—three months for planning, obtaining clearances and dismantling, followed by construction for 21 months—after which the contractor will also operate and maintain them for five years.

The project will be executed on an engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) mode, wherein the contractor will be responsible for all phases of work.

CPWD has flagged the site as a high-security zone and specified stringent access control for workers, materials, and equipment during execution. The two buildings stand adjacent to one another along Dr Rajendra Prasad Road, forming part of the older Central Secretariat cluster that also includes Nirman Bhawan and Udyog Bhawan.