The demolition of Shastri Bhawan and Krishi Bhawan, two decades-old government office complexes in Lutyens' Delhi, is expected to begin shortly, with the Central Public Works Department initiating the process of vacating the buildings by the end of September. The structures will make way for Kartavya Bhawans 4 and 5 as part of the Central Vista redevelopment project.
Constructed between 1956 and 1968, the two buildings accommodated several important Union ministries for many years. Their vacation represents another step in the Centre's plan to replace ageing government offices along Kartavya Path with modern Common Central Secretariat complexes.
In a CPWD communication dated September 16, the department said the construction tender for the proposed Kartavya Bhawans had been awarded. It noted that the planned buildings would occupy the same footprint as the existing Shastri Bhawan and Krishi Bhawan. As a result, the premises need to be handed over to the agency carrying out the Central Vista redevelopment by the end of September 2026.
The communication said this was necessary to ensure the site could be handed over on schedule and construction could begin as planned. It asked the concerned authorities to take urgent steps to vacate and hand over both buildings within the specified deadline.
Named after former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, the seven-storey Shastri Bhawan was for decades an important office centre for several ministries and departments, including the ministries of education, petroleum and natural gas, and coal. Krishi Bhawan housed the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare as well as the Ministry of Rural Development. In recent months, several ministries and departments have moved out of the two buildings and shifted to the newly inaugurated Kartavya Bhawans in the high-security Central Vista zone.
As part of the Central Vista redevelopment, the government has planned 10 Kartavya Bhawans to consolidate ministries and departments currently spread across multiple buildings into modern, integrated office complexes. The new facilities are intended to offer secure, technology-enabled workplaces while reducing the maintenance requirements associated with older government buildings. The wider redevelopment has also involved shifting offices from the North and South Blocks, which are proposed to be transformed into the Yuge Yugeen Bharat National Museum.
With the construction tender awarded and government offices gradually moving out, the vacation of Shastri Bhawan and Krishi Bhawan is expected to clear the site for the next stage of construction under the Central Vista redevelopment project.
