Shastri Bhawan, Krishi Bhawan to be demolished as Central Vista Project enters construction phase

New Delhi, Sep 22 (UNI) Two of Lutyens' Delhi's long-standing government office complexes, Shastri Bhawan and Krishi Bhawan, will be vacated by September 30 to make way for new construction under the Central Vista redevelopment plan.

The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has directed that both buildings be vacated and handed over by September 30, so that work can begin on their replacements: the Common Central Secretariat buildings known as Kartavya Bhawan 4 and 5.

Shastri Bhawan and Krishi Bhawan, two prominent government office complexes, are set to be demolished as the Central Vista redevelopment moves into its construction phase.

In a letter dated September 16, the CPWD said the tender for construction of Kartavya Bhawan 4 and 5 at Plot No. 120, Dr Rajendra Prasad Road, New Delhi, has been awarded.

A CPWD notice dated September 16 confirmed that the construction tender for the new buildings, to be built at Plot No. 120 on Dr. Rajendra Prasad Road, has already been awarded. Because the new structures will sit on the same ground currently occupied by Shastri Bhawan and Krishi Bhawan, the notice called for "necessary action" to be taken "for handing over the existing premises" by the end of September 2026.

The notice further stated that this handover is "essential to facilitate timely handing over of the site to the executing agency and enable commencement of the construction work as scheduled."

For more than 50 years, the two complexes have hosted a range of central government offices, including those of the Ministries of Education, Information and Broadcasting, Women and Child Development, Agriculture, Social Justice, and Corporate Affairs, along with the office of the Principal Director General (Information).

The two buildings form part of a larger blueprint under the Central Vista master plan, which aims to replace multiple ageing secretariat buildings with consolidated, modern facilities designed to house a growing government workforce more efficiently and improve coordination between departments.

Before construction crews can take over the site, the ministries and departments currently based in Shastri Bhawan and Krishi Bhawan must complete their relocation. The CPWD's communication lays out a clear sequence: vacate the buildings, formally hand over the land, and then allow construction to begin.

Earlier in June 2026, Udyog Bhawan, built in the late 1950s, was razed shortly after neighbouring Nirman Bhawan was demolished in May. Ministries from both buildings have since been relocated to the newly built Kartavya Bhawans, as the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs moves ahead with plans to construct 10 buildings for the Common Central Secretariat.
UNI AAB RSA