Amidst continuing furore over the Central Vista project of the BJP-led Union government, the Congress government in Chhattisgarh, on Thursday, announced the decision to stop the ongoing work of construction of Raj Bhavan, CM House and official residences of ministers and bureaucrats and to defer the project of construction of the new assembly building.
The orders to this effect have been issued by the office of the executive engineer of the state public works department, following the government decision. Separate orders – one of stopping the ongoing construction works and another cancelling the tenders for the construction of the new assembly building and MLAs' rest house – all in Nava Raipur, have been issued.
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel took to Twitter to announce the decision. “Our people are our priority. Foundation stone laying ceremony for the new assembly building, Raj Bhavan, CM House, official residences of ministers and senior bureaucrats, new circuit house and others was undertaken before the Corona times. During the current time of crisis, the construction works are being stopped,” Baghel tweeted.
The construction work for the Raj Bhavan, CM House and other official residences was started in the year 2019 and the state government wanted to complete the work before the assembly polls of 2023.
However, lately, even as the Congress and other opposition parties have been criticising the continuation of the Central Vista project in New Delhi amidst raging pandemic and recently demanded stopping the work, the Baghel government in Chhattisgarh was facing similar criticism in the state. BJP MP Sunil Soni had on Wednesday said Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, who is raising questions on the Central Vista project, should ask Baghel why the works were continuing in Raipur.
Besides, sources said, due to the COVID-19 crisis, the state government is facing economic crunch and this was also one of the reasons to stop the work.
The Raj Bhavan, CM House, official residences of ministers and bureaucrats and 164 other residences are being built in the sector-24 of Nava Raipur – the new capital area of Chhattisgarh. The project worth Rs 505 crores was targeted to be completed in two years. The Raj Bhavan campus is to be on a 14-acre campus while the CM House is to be built on an 8 acre area. The new assembly building is proposed on an area of 51 acres and is to be of over 52,00 square metre built up space. It will have the capacity to sit 90 MLAS and include the speaker's gallery, officers' gallery, VIP gallery, media gallery and visitors' gallery among others.
