New Delhi: Marking the 75th year of independence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi September 16 inaugurated the new Defence Office Complex which he said would “further strengthen our efforts to make the working of our forces more convenient, more effective.”
Inaugurating a two new multi-storey swanky office complexes at Kasturba Gandhi Marg and Africa Avenue for over 7,000 employees of the Defence Ministry and the armed forces, he said his government was ” taking another step towards developing the capital of our country according to the needs and aspirations of the new India.”
“These new defence office complexes are going to further strengthen our efforts to make the working of our forces more convenient and effective,” he said.
Modi said the modern offices will go a long way in effectively carrying out all the work related to the security of the nation by the three forces. “This is a big step towards the creation of a modern defence enclave in the capital,” he said.
The officers and other staffers of the Defence Ministry and the armed forces are moving into the new office complexes from their existing workplaces in pre-Independence era hutments in and around the Raisina Hills.
Using the platform to hit out at the opposition, Modi criticised those who were opposed to the Central Vista project saying they never bothered to find out how the armed forces personnel were working in those hutments.
“When we talk about the capital, it is not just a city. The capital of any country is a symbol of the thinking, determination, strength and culture of that country,” Modi said. “India is the mother of democracy. Therefore, the capital of India should be such that its central focus should be people,” he said.
The two buildings, constructed by the Housing and Urban Affairs with resources allocated by the Defence Ministry, have an office space of 9.60 lakhs sq. ft.
“Today, when we are focusing on ease of living and ease of doing business, modern infrastructure plays an equally important role in this. This is the spirit at the core of the work being done today related to Central Vista,” the prime minister said. Modi also said that he was confident that work on the new Parliament building will be completed on time.
Fourteen offices are being relocated to the KG Marg complex having a built-up area of 4.52 lakh sq. ft. while 13 offices are being relocated to the Africa Avenue building that has a total built-up area of 5.08 lakh sq. ft., officials said.
“You all are aware that till now our work related to defence was going on only from the Hutments built during the Second World War. Hutments that were then built to suit the needs of horse stables and barracks. In the decades after independence, to develop them as the offices of the Ministry of Defence, Army, Navy and Air Force, minor repairs were done from time to time, if some higher officials would come, then a little more painting was done. And it went on like this. When I saw the nuances of this, the first thought that came to my mind was that in such a bad state, so many of our prominent army men work to protect the country. Why has our Delhi media never written about this condition. This was in my mind. Otherwise it was such a place that someone must have criticized what the Government of India is doing. But I don’t know, nobody paid any attention to it. You people are also well aware of the problems that come in these hutments,” he said.
Never missing out an opportunity to hit out at his critics, Modi said “I would also like to point out that those who were behind the project of Central Vista with a stick were cleverly clever and this is also a part of the Central Vista project. The system where more than seven thousand army officers work is developing, they used to be completely silent on this because they knew that there is an intention to spread confusion, intention to spread lies, As soon as this thing comes to the fore, then all their gossip will not work, but today the country is seeing what we are doing behind the Central Vista.”
The Prime Minister said this was a big and important step towards the creation of a modern defence enclave in the capital. He said it would help a lot in carrying out effectively every work related to the security of the nation. This is a big and important step towards the creation of a modern defence enclave in the capital.
He said every necessary facility has been provided for jawans and employees in both the campuses.
Modi said the work of Defence Office Complex which was to be completed in 24 months has been completed in a record time of only 12 months i.e. 50 percent time was saved. That too at a time when all kinds of challenges were in front from labour in the circumstances created by Corona.
The new construction technology has also played a big role in the boom that is being seen in construction today. The Defence Office Complex also uses light gauge steel frame technology instead of conventional RCC construction. Due to new technology, these buildings are more safe from fire and other natural calamities. With the construction of these new complexes, the cost of maintaining the old hutments spread over dozens of acres every year will also be saved.
