Shastri Bhawan, Krishi Bhawan set for demolition as Central Vista enters next phase

Two of Lutyens' Delhi's long-standing government office complexes, Shastri Bhawan and Krishi Bhawan, are set to be vacated by the end of September as the Central Vista redevelopment project moves towards the construction stage.

The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has directed ministries and departments occupying the two buildings to clear the premises and hand them over for construction. The sites will be used for Kartavya Bhawans 4 and 5, the new Common Central Secretariat complexes planned under the Central Vista project.

A CPWD communication dated September 16 said the construction tender for the proposed buildings had already been awarded. Since the new structures will come up on the footprint of the existing Shastri Bhawan and Krishi Bhawan, the premises need to be handed over to the agency executing the project by the end of September 2026.

The CPWD said clearing the buildings was necessary to ensure that construction could begin according to schedule.

Ministries move out of decades-old offices

Built between 1956 and 1968 as part of the post-Independence expansion of the Central Secretariat, the two buildings have accommodated several important Union ministries and departments for decades. The Central Vista's official master plan identifies these post-Independence office buildings as part of the redevelopment area.

Shastri Bhawan, a seven-storeyed building named after former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, has served as an office hub for ministries including Education, Petroleum and Natural Gas and Coal. Krishi Bhawan has housed the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare and the Ministry of Rural Development.

Other departments and offices that have operated from the two complexes include Information and Broadcasting, Women and Child Development, Social Justice, Culture and Corporate Affairs, as well as the office of the Principal Director General (Information).

Several ministries have already shifted to newly inaugurated Kartavya Bhawans in the high-security Central Vista area. According to officials, Information and Broadcasting has been allocated space in Soochna Bhawan on Lodhi Road, while divisions of the Ministry of External Affairs that were operating from the two buildings have shifted to the Samrat Hotel on Kautilya Marg in Chanakyapuri.

The relocation process had faced a temporary pause around May because some divisions, including those of Information and Broadcasting and External Affairs, were still functioning from the two buildings.

₹3,155-crore project to replace existing complexes

The tender for Kartavya Bhawans 4 and 5 has been awarded, with tender documents putting the estimated cost of the project at around ₹3,155 crore. The project includes five years of operation and maintenance, while the construction period has been set at 24 months.

The two new buildings are part of the government's broader plan to create 10 Kartavya Bhawans and consolidate ministries and departments that are currently spread across multiple government buildings in Delhi.

According to the official Central Vista plan, the redevelopment is intended to bring all 51 Union ministries into the Central Vista, with modern office facilities designed to accommodate around 54,000 personnel. The government says the new complexes will provide modern technological infrastructure, better amenities and more integrated workspaces.

The plan also envisages replacing several existing government office buildings, including Shastri Bhawan, Krishi Bhawan, Udyog Bhawan and Nirman Bhawan, with consolidated secretariat facilities. Offices currently housed in the North and South Blocks have also been shifted as part of the wider redevelopment, with the two historic blocks proposed to be converted into the Yuge Yugeen Bharat National Museum.

Central Vista redevelopment enters construction phase

The clearance of Shastri Bhawan and Krishi Bhawan marks another step in the physical implementation of the Central Vista redevelopment plan.

Nirman Bhawan has already been demolished, while demolition work at Udyog Bhawan began in June, according to recent reports. The relocation of departments from Shastri Bhawan and Krishi Bhawan will now allow the two sites to be handed over for construction of Kartavya Bhawans 4 and 5.

With the construction tender awarded and departments being relocated, the September-end deadline is expected to clear the way for work on the two new Common Central Secretariat buildings.