Direct link to Yuga Yugen National Museum, proposed stops at Bharat Mandapam and India Gate – As part of its larger Central Vista redevelopment project, the central government is planning to build an underground metro corridor between Indraprastha station and the new National Museum. North Block and South Block, The Indian Express has learnt.
Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry sources said that after the ministries working from the North and South Blocks are shifted to the new Secretariat building within the next few years, there is a proposal to connect Indraprastha with Yug Yugen National Museum. In the first phase, it is proposed to establish a museum in the North Block.
“It will be an underground corridor and stations are proposed at Bharat Mandapam-Supreme Court, India Gate Hexagon (2 stations), Duty Path, Central Secretariat (Interchange), North Block and Yug Yugen Museum…,” Delhi Metro Rail Corporation said. Spokesperson Anuj Dayal when asked for a response.
“The detailed project report is yet to be prepared and the proposal is in the preliminary stage,” he said. The corridor will be a standard gauge of 2,900 mm rolling stock, Dayal said.
Under the Central Vista amendment, the government has proposed to demolish the existing structure and construct a new Common Central Secretariat (CCS) building. The first three CCS buildings on the plot where the Indira Gandhi National Center for Arts is located are under construction and are expected to be completed by April 2025.
Ministries operating from the Northern Block, including Home Affairs and Finance, are expected to shift to CCS 1, 2, and 3 buildings, paving the way for the conversion of the heritage building into the Yug Yugen National Museum.
When the government first proposed the Central Vista Redevelopment Plan in 2019, an automated mass mover, a mini transit system, was expected to be built to connect 10 new CCS buildings and the Delhi Metro network. However, since then, the government has canceled that plan, sources said.
Now, ministry sources said, the metro corridor was planned to connect the new CCS buildings as well as facilities for visitors to the India Gate and the proposed Yug Yugen National Museum.
The North Block is expected to be restored first after the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) gets the Heritage Preservation Committee’s approval for the project on October 24.
According to CPWD’s project report, the “rehabilitation and comprehensive maintenance” of the North Block will “contribute to all necessary works and interventions to prolong its life; to prevent its damage and deterioration; to reduce the effects of external agents of decay and interference on the building and its contents; and to preserve the natural and Prepare for human-induced disasters. All efforts will be made to restore the North Block, maintaining its value and significance, authenticity and interventions, and visual connections with the structure…”
Meanwhile, in a press conference held on Tuesday, informing about the achievements of the ministry in the first six months of this term, Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Manohar Lal said that the government is focusing on expanding the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) in the country.
On housing, he said the government had given provisional approval for 6.12 lakh houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Sahri 2.0 launched in September. The exact number of houses per state will be determined after the demand survey is completed, he said.