The Central Public Works Department’s (CPWD) proposal to construct an executive enclave as part of the redevelopment of the Central Vista would remove an “excessively high proportion” of trees, the Delhi State-level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) noted while considering the environment clearance (EC) application recently.
The SEAC, in its meeting on January 31, was informed by officials of the CPWD; the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs;, and HCP Design, Planning and Management, the CPWD’s consultant for the Central Vista project, about the details of the executive enclave project near South Block, which includes a new Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). However, after deliberating, the panel did not recommend the EC be granted and asked for additional information from the CPWD, according to the minutes of the meeting that were published on Monday.
The panel asked for the building plan’s approval from the New Delhi Municipal Council, the Delhi Urban Art Commission and the Delhi Fire Service. The SEAC raised concerns over the number of trees to be removed from the site — 630 out of the 784 trees at the site were proposed to be transplanted by the CPWD.
