Inauguration of Central Vista Avenue

After missing several deadlines, the revamp of the 3 km-long Central Vista Avenue, one of the national capital’s largest public spaces that stretches from Vijay Chowk to India Gate, is finally complete, and set to be inaugurated on 8^th September 2022, Thursday.

Earlier it was supposed to be completed by December 2021, but the project saw delays, which led to it missing two more deadlines — May and July 2022.

The revamped Rajpath and Centre Vista lawns that stretch from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate in Central Delhi are set to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, September 8. Ahead of the inauguration, the Central government has taken a decision to remove colonial linkages and rename the Rajpath (Kingsway) as 'Kartavya Path'.

"The entire road and area from the Netaji statue at India Gate to the Rashtrapati Bhavan will be known as Kartavya Path". A special meeting of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) will be held on September 7 to take up the proposal.

The stretch will be inaugurated on the evening of September 8 by the PM - it has been renovated as part of the Centre’s Central Vista redevelopment project.

Under the Central Vista redevelopment project, a new triangular Parliament building is being constructed. Further, a common central secretariat, a new residence for the prime minister, a new prime minister's office, and a new vice-president's enclave are also being built that will replace colonial-era buildings.

Further, it has been reported that the revamped Central Vista Avenue along the Rajpath will play home to state-wise food stalls, red granite walkways with greenery all around, vending zones, parking lots, and round-the-clock security. However, people would not be allowed to consume food on the lawns from India Gate to Man Singh Road.

Following the inauguration on September 8 evening, the stretch will partially open to the public. However, from September 9 onwards, the public will be able to access the entire stretch after 20 months.

The statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose under the canopy at India Gate is also set to be unveiled on September 8.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the statue along with the revamped Central Vista Avenue.

Final touches are being given to the canopy and tents are being set up for the grand event on Thursday. The spot has been barricaded from all sides.

The revamped Central Vista Avenue — alongside Rajpath, stretching from the Vijay Chowk to the India Gate — has red granite walkways and benches, with greenery all around, aiming to make the stretch more pedestrian friendly. Amenities and underpasses have also been constructed for pedestrians.

The statue is part of the Rs 13,450-crore Central Vista Project, which also envisages a new Parliament building, new residence and office for the Vice-President and the Prime Minister, new ministry buildings, and the conversion of North and South Blocks into museums.

It was in January this year when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that a “grand statue” of Netaji will be installed beneath the canopy at India Gate. Till the time the actual statue is ready, the PM said, Bose’s hologram would be placed at the spot — with exactly the same dimensions as the original. The hologram was unveiled by the PM on January 23 to mark Bose’s 125th birth anniversary celebrations. It was in late July that the hologram was switched off from the spot, and the fittings for the actual stone statue started.

For the 28-ft black granite statue, Mysuru-based sculptor Arun Yogiraj — who had created the 12-feet statue of Adi Shankaracharya at Kedarnath — was roped in by the government. A huge block of black granite stone was selected for the statue, which was then transported to Delhi, where the carving took place over the last two months.