Blind men at work: Central Vista is an illegitimate monument to deceit
It's been made possible by treating the law, independent institutions and, most of all, the public as enemies. https://www.newslaundry.com/2021/05/13/blind-men-at-work-central-vista-is-an-illegitimate-monument-to-deceit
The Central Vista Project is a tale of imperial power. By that definition, its deepest motivation is anti-democratic. It views the public with paranoia and kneecaps any institution that purports to undertake lawful process. It has no place in a democratic republic.
A relentless pitch about ‘modernity’ and ‘national identity’ has kept its anti-people hostility carefully hidden behind a narrative that gives Central Vista an undesirable ‘colonial’ colour. As if the names on India Gate are not those of Indians. As if our own Constitution was never debated and our own Republic never created in the only Parliament India has known for 74 years. As if Central Vista – despite being built by and paid for by Indians – never belonged to Indians because it was produced by the British whom this country freed itself from five generations ago.
Bit by bit, trick by trick: How Central Vista became a reality
It was submitted for approvals as a series of micro projects to an array of committees brought to heel through cunning and brute power. https://www.newslaundry.com/2021/05/19/bit-by-bit-trick-by-trick-how-central-vista-became-a-reality
By breaking up submissions into micro projects, no one can estimate any idea of the macro project itself or its collective impact on environment or heritage. The only people who know what the entire elephant will look like can be counted on one hand – essentially the architectural firm and the evaluation committee that chose it.
Every part of this project should have been submitted for approval to a standard list of required committees and agencies such as the Central Vista Committee, or CVC, the Heritage Conservation Committee, or HCC, and the Delhi Urban Art Commission, or DUAC. But submitting it in a million moving parts avoids easy tracking of what has been submitted, when or how.
Judgement Day:
"Central Vista essential project of national importance:" https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/delhi-high-court-refuses-to-halt-construction-of-central-vista-redevelopment-1-lakh-costs?fbclid=IwAR09YaivxnoWgVfMybZHavaLBno5fWq2w34-TVg9fCXuRo7ly1Mx6qgIAoo
The petitioners in the instant case, Anya Malhotra and Sohail Hashmi, had sought a stay on the construction of Central Vista due to the COVID-19 situation in the national capital and the threat posed by the construction work as a potential super spreader. The plea contended that there was no rationale for classifying the Central Vista project as an “essential service”, merely because some executive mandated contractual deadline was ostensibly required to be met.
The Central government opposed the plea, stating that the construction activities currently ongoing in and around Rajpath and India Gate do not pertain to the new Parliament building or new offices for the Central government. Instead, the current construction is with respect to public spaces visited by people and tourists at Raj Path and includes building public amenities like new toilet blocks, parking spaces, pedestrian underpasses etc, it was contended. The Centre also claimed that contrary to the claims of the petitioner, there was a medical facility at the site and that workers will have access to such medical facility.