NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce its verdict Tuesday on a batch of pleas, which have questioned several aspects including the environmental clearance granted to ambitious Central vista project.
The Central Vista revamp, announced in September, 2019 envisages a new triangular Parliament building, with seating capacity for 900 to 1,200 MPs, that is to be constructed by August, 2022 when the country will be celebrating its 75th Independence Day.
The common Central Secretariat is likely to be built by 2024 under the project against which various pleas have been filed. A bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjiv Khanna will pronounce the verdict on the batch of pleas on which it had reserved its verdict on November 5, last year.
On December 7, last year the top court had allowed the Centre to proceed with the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the Central Vista project on December 10 after the government assured it that no construction or demolition work would commence till the apex court decides the pending pleas on the issue.
Centre had told the bench that there would be only foundation stone-laying ceremony, and no construction, demolition or felling of trees would be done for the project as of now.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone on December 10, last year, for the new Parliament building and the construction is expected to be completed by 2022 at an estimated cost of Rs 971 crore, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had said on December 5, last year.
The apex court had earlier said that any change at the ground level made by authorities for the Central Vista project will be “at their own risk”.
It had made it clear that the fate of the project, which includes several new government buildings and a new Parliament House, will depend on its decision.With PTI inputs