Central Vista project: Construction of PM's residence to be completed by Dec 2022, says CPWD
New Delhi, May 3: The construction of the prime minister's residence under the ambitious Central Vista project will be completed by December 2022, the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has informed a government-appointed expert panel, which has given its nod to the project.
The CPWD, which is the project developer, informed the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) that the expansion of the Parliament building and the construction of a new Parliament building will be done by November 2022 and the prime minister's residence will be constructed by December 2022.
The Ministry of Environment has already granted the clearance for the expansion and renovation of the existing Parliament building, which is part of the Rs-13,450 crore Central Vista Redevelopment Project.
At a meeting held last month, the EAC recommended for the environmental clearance for the redevelopment of the Common Central Secretariat buildings and the prime minister's residence.
"The EAC, based on the information submitted and clarifications provided by the project proponent and detailed discussions held on all the issues, recommended granting environmental clearance to the project," the minutes of the meeting said.
The panel took note of the CPWD's submission that the Common Central Secretariat will consolidate all ministries and improve the productivity and the efficiency of the administration. According to the CPWD, the Common Central Secretariat buildings will be constructed by May 2023.
It informed that the Central Conference Centre, which is expected to be ready by December 2026, will cater to the conferencing needs and will also be connected by a people mover to the Delhi Metro.
"Modern and secure residential facilities for the Vice President and the Prime Minister will be equipped with all necessary spaces and infrastructure, including the Special Protection Group; Environmental: Landscape/greenbelt development, traffic decongestion, provision of STP, OWC, safety aspects including fire-fighting system, maximum use of treated waste water, well-designed network of storm water drains, rain water harvesting system etc.," the EAC noted.
While giving its nod, the panel directed the CPWD to ensure that an area for greenery is provided according to the details in the project document, which say the area under plantation or greenery will be 81,220 square metres.
"As proposed, at least 4,918 trees will be maintained within the project site during the operation phase of the project," it said.
It also directed the CPWD to install two continuous online ambient air quality (AAQ) monitoring stations in the project area in consultation with the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) before the demolition work starts.
"Online monitoring should cover parameters e.g. PM10, PM2.5 along with NOx, SOx, covering upwind and downwind directions during the construction period," it said.
The committee also directed the project developer to draw a detailed traffic management-and-decongestion plan to ensure that the service of the roads near the project site may not get adversely impacted during the implementation of the project.
"The plan should stipulate, inter alia, the path and appropriate time for the movement of vehicles to and from site. The plan shall be vetted by a concerned agency in the state government," it said.
It directed the CPWD to ensure that noise barriers or acoustics of adequate efficiency are provided at each construction site during the construction phase and at least 50 anti-smog guns and an equal number of anti-smog towers are installed to curb air pollution during the construction phase. The anti-smog towers shall be installed during the operation phase as proposed, it said.
The redevelopment project of the Central Vista -- the power corridor of the country -- envisages a new triangular Parliament building, a Common Central Secretariat and the revamping of the three-km-long Rajpath from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate and new residences for the prime minister and the vice president.
The CPWD, which is executing the project, had revised its estimated cost from Rs 11,794 crore to Rs 13,450 crore.
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Two women died, 6 taken ill after ‘consuming’ mango kernel gruel in Odisha
Bhubaneswar/Berhampur/Phulbani, Nov 1: At least two tribal women died and six others fell ill after allegedly consuming mango kernel gruel in Odisha's Kandhamal district, police said on Friday.
Consumption of mango kernel, prepared by boiling the seeds in water, was reported from Mandipanka village in the district's Daringbadi block, an officer said.
While one of the two women (Rasmita Pattamajhi aged 22) died on Thursday night at Mohana community health centre in Gajapati district where she was undergoing treatment after "consuming the gruel", another woman (Runu Majhi aged 29) breathed her last while being taken to MKCG Medical College Hospital in Berhampur, Gadapur sarpanch Kumari Mallick said.
Six others, who fell ill after allegedly consuming the gruel, were admitted to a hospital and their condition was critical, said Dr Subrat Das, a medical officer of the health facility.
"All the six have been admitted to the hospital in a serious condition. We suspected that they fell sick due to food poisoning. The exact cause of the illness will be ascertained after completion of the investigation," he added.
The six were identified as Pravati Patmajhi, Dranglu Patmajhi, Tuni Majhi, Susama Patmajhi, Jita Majhi and Jibanti Majhi, Daringbadi BDO Pritiranjan Ratha said.
Meanwhile, the Odisha government has rejected allegations that tribal people have been consuming mango kernel gruel due to a lack of access to rice under the Public Distribution System (PDS).
Rasmita's husband Anil Pattamajhi alleged that they were denied rice under PDS for the last three months because of which his wife consumed mango kernel.
However, Kandhamal district magistrate-cum-collector Amrit Ruturaj dismissed the allegations, saying the family received rice according to PDS norms. "We are awaiting the postmortem report to determine the facts," the collector added.
Deputy chief minister Pravati Parida, who is also in-charge of the women and child development department said, "It is not a case of malnutrition. Mango kernel is part of their (tribal) regular diet. Sometime, the mango kernels get contaminated and lead to such unfortunate incidents. We have been actively spreading awareness about the risks of food contamination."
Health and family welfare minister Mukesh Mahaling, who ordered a departmental inquiry into the death of two tribal women, said a team from the district headquarters hospital and another local team are at the spot to assess the situation and conduct a detailed probe into the incident.
Mahaling said that the government was waiting for the postmortem report for a confirmation on the cause of the deaths. "People in Kandhamal consume mango kernel. It is common in that region and there also have been reports of health complications linked to it in the past," he said.
The Kandhmal incident reminds a similar tragedy involving mango kernel deaths in Kashipur block of Rayagada district, where at least 20 people died in 2001, and two more succumbed to mango kernel consumption in 2016. Additionally, mango kernel has claimed lives in Laxmipur in Koraput district in 2012 and 2013, as well as in Jharigaon in Nabarangpur district in 2018.
