New Delhi looks to redraw its nerve centre

In a historic development, ministries set to leave Raj-era buildings for new spaces rising along Kartavya Path

- SUBHOMOY BHATTACHARJEE

The biggest relocation of central government employees in New Delhi has begun, with orders issued for several departments to move to one of the new buildings constructed on Rajendra Prasad Road. The orders issued this month have selected ministries ranging from home affairs under Amit Shah to rural development, headed by Shivraj Singh Chouhan, to move to Building 3—currently named CCS-03—on Kartavya Path.

The scale of the shift will be even larger than when most of Lutyens' Delhi's present crop of government buildings came up in the early 1930s. The orders issued this month by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs are just the first batch.

While both the home ministry and the Department of Personnel and Training from North Block have been asked to shift to their new address, the finance ministry has not been picked. Since no timeline has been mentioned in the order for when the first set of nine ministries and departments must complete the move, it is clear that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her next Budget from North Block as well.