Central Vista Redevelopment
Also called: Central Vista Project · Topic: State, Government and Governance: Organs, Levels and the Citizen · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Central Vista Redevelopment, also called the Central Vista Project, is a government plan to rebuild New Delhi's Central Vista, the area where the main government buildings stand. Under it, government offices have moved out of the old Secretariat buildings, North Block and South Block. The plan says no listed heritage building will be pulled down. Heritage buildings, meaning old buildings protected for their history and design, will instead be retrofitted to heritage conservation standards. Retrofitted means fitted with modern systems while their original character is kept. The project comes from executive planning, not from any Article of the Constitution or any Act of Parliament. It matters because it decides what happens to buildings at the heart of India's government.
Example
After the offices moved out, the empty North and South Block buildings were chosen for a new public museum. In June 2024, the Ministry of Culture held a workshop to plan the Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum there as part of the Central Vista Redevelopment. On 11 November 2026, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the museum at ₹3,230 crore.
Don't confuse with
- Adaptive reuse: This means giving one old building a new use while keeping its heritage value, such as turning North Block into a museum. Central Vista Redevelopment is the larger plan for the whole area that made those buildings free to reuse.
Recent developments
- February 2026: The Union Cabinet approved moving government offices out of North Block and South Block into new buildings called 'Seva Teerth' and the 'Kartavya Bhavans'. This was the formal decision that emptied the two old Secretariat buildings so they can become the Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum. It shows how the Central Vista plan works in steps: offices first move to new buildings, and then the heritage buildings they leave are given a new use.
- 2026–27 to 2030–31: The museum will be built in phases over these five financial years, with the first gallery, on the theme of adornment, opening in North Block. The museum cannot keep to this timetable unless the offices move out on time.