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A ‘ham-fisted ego trip’: Rowan Moore delves into Modi's divisive Central Vista project

2023-04-06T11:02:00-04:00

It is the centrepiece of the Central Vista Project, an ambitious plan to make over the city’s British-built administrative centre. Critics of the new building say that it is an unnecessary replacement of the existing parliament, that short cuts were taken with its procurement and the obtaining of permissions, and that there was minimal consultation with parliamentarians and the public.

The Prime Minister’s Bharatiya Janata Party has maintained the US$150M project is a “necessity” and expects its inauguration to take place soon after previously redying for a debut by the end of October.

Modi appeared encouraged on a “surprise” hour-long site visit last Thursday. The more modernized four-story facility will offer 40 square meters of office space to each of India’s 545 parliament members in addition to holding a lounge, dining areas, library, 5,000-piece art collection, and constitution hall meant to honor its now 75 years of independence.

India's controversial parliament redesign draws increased criticism as country battles new Covid wave

2021-04-27T13:36:00-04:00

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is rebuilding part of New Delhi, but the mammoth undertaking is drawing fire [...] The massive project — which local media have estimated could cost about 200 billion rupees ($2.7 billion) — has grown more controversial as India’s coronavirus cases have exploded. On social media, some questioned the need for spending on new government structures at a time when the nation is dealing with severe fallouts from the pandemic.

As India struggles to contain a new devastating wave of Covid-19 outbreaks throughout the country, opposition is further growing to Prime Minister Modi's controversial redesign plan of the historic Central Vista in the capital Delhi which will include a new parliament building and several government offices. The criticism centers around the project's lack of public consultation and transparency as well as its enormous price tag at a time when the country is facing economic challenges due to the ongoing pandemic.

The undertaking officially launched in December 2020 but was briefly halted (and subsequently approved) by India's Supreme Court shortly after.

Indian firm HCP Design, Planning and Management Ltd. is in charge of the Central Vista urban master plan and architectural design of the parliament building.

India's controversial new parliament building approved by highest court

2021-01-05T14:40:00-05:00

India’s supreme court has given approval for a new parliament building that critics have called an “expensive vanity project” for the prime minister, Narendra Modi. [...] Since the project was announced, it has faced criticism from civil society groups, environmentalists and politicians about its lack of transparency and public consultation and high cost in a time of economic crisis.

The $3 billion parliament plan, a pet project of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reshape the country's capital, was officially launched last December with the ceremonial laying of the foundation stone but immediately halted again by India's Supreme Court due to legal challenges over environmental and land use violations.

The Delhi central vista project has received sharp criticism, mainly over its lack of transparency and financial burden on India's Covid-stricken economy.

Narendra Modi launches controversial effort to redesign India's parliament complex

2020-12-14T15:23:00-05:00

Despite widespread opposition, the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has begun a £2bn overhaul of Delhi's grand complex of government buildings in a bid to sever the nation from its colonial past. At a ceremony held last week, Modi laid the foundation stone for a new building to replace Parliament House, designed by English architects Edward Lutyens and Herbert Baker, which upon its completion in 1927 became the seat of power for British-ruled India.

The ambitious plan by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to overhaul the sprawling complex of historic, colonial-era government buildings in Delhi is off to a rocky start: despite ceremonially laying the foundation stone for a new parliament building on December 10, further spending on the project was blocked by India's Supreme Court within the same week.

Since its official reveal in May, Modi's plan to have the heritage-listed central vista redesigned by architect Bimal Patel has been sharply criticized as an "expensive vanity project," including by Indian-born artist Anish Kapoor. In his Guardian Op-Ed, he writes: "Architecture is an effective propagandist tool. [...] This is not the redesign of buildings, it is instead Modi’s way of placing himself at the centre and cementing his legacy as the maker of a new Hindu India."

The new parliament building is expected to be ready for India's 75th anniversary of independence in 2022.