Redeveloped Central Vista will have red granite walkways, stepped gardens

PTI

New Delhi, January 22

Red granite walkways spreading 1.10 lakh square metre with greenery all around, 133 light poles along the Rajpath, 4,087 trees, 114 modern signages and stepped gardens will be part of the redeveloped Central Vista in the national capital, officials said on Saturday.

According to the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry, there will be a total of 915 light poles, including those in gardens and along the Rajpath between the Rashtrapati Bhavan and the India gate, a move aimed at making the Central Vista more pedestrian-friendly round the clock.

People witnessing the Republic Day parade this year will get to see major changes along the stretch in terms of the new look of Rajpath and facilities created under the government’s ambitious Central Vista redevelopment project.

Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who visited the Central Vista Avenue, said that a full dress rehearsal parade will be held on Sunday.

“In spite of (recent) rains, etc., all the work is complete,” Puri told reporters, adding that only 25 trees have been relocated and of them, 22 trees have been shifted to another location and three are here.

Although temporary bridges on water bodies along the Rajpath have been set up as part of the Republic Day parade arrangements, a total of 16 permanent ones will come up.

According to an official document, eight amenity blocks are being constructed while four pedestrian underpasses will come up in the entire stretch.

It shows that on the developed stretch, ‘Tree Avenue’ has 4,087 trees, but the earlier number was 3,890. The stretch also sports 422 red granite benches.

Along the Rajpath, the new red granite walkways spreading 1,10,457 sqm have been created, replacing bajri sand that lined the ground earlier.

As many as 987 concrete bollards have been installed on the Rajpath. A total of 1,490 modern-look manholes have replaced the earlier ones.

On January 11, Puri had said the recent record rainfall had delayed the Central Vista Avenue redevelopment project by “a day or two, but not more”.

Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Limited is executing the redevelopment work of the Central Vista Avenue.

The redevelopment project of the Central Vista—the nation’s power corridor—envisages a new triangular Parliament building, a common central secretariat, revamping of the three-km Rajpath, a new prime minister’s residence and prime minister’s office, and a new vice president’s enclave.

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