NEW DELHI: Efforts are on to hand over North and South blocks—twin secretariat buildings on the Raisina Hill—by June next year for repurposing both the complexes in which the proposed Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum (YYBM) is to be set up.Sources said that in a meeting held last month to review progress of the Common Central Secretariat (CCS), comprising 10 buildings under the Central Vista redevelopment project, it was agreed upon to expedite construction of three CCS buildings so that the two administrative blocks, which currently house the offices of prominent ministries including home, finance and defence, could be vacated by mid-2025.Union ministers Piyush Goyal (Commerce and Industry) and Manohar Lal (Housing and Urban Affairs) were present in the meeting.According to the sources, offices of the finance and home ministries and department of personnel and training (DoPT) are likely to move first to the new buildings, CCS 1, 2 and 3, which are expected to be ready by January.“In the meeting, officials were asked to accelerate the pace of construction so that North and South blocks can be vacated for the development of the proposed museum. Then only conservation and repair can begin. It is expected that the CCS buildings will be completed in January,” said an official aware of the project.In October 2019, Manohar Lal said that while the work on the CCS was to be finished by March 2024, the project has missed the deadline. Despite calls and text messages to the ministry, no response was available.The culture ministry, which will create the museum, was expecting possession of North and South blocks by December.The museum will be developed in collaboration with France, owing to its expertise in similar projects such as the Louvre Museum in Paris, the premises that once housed the French Ministry of Finance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the plan at the inauguration of the first International Museum Expo held in Delhi in May last year.Officials said meetings with the French agency have taken place to work out modalities to execute the project.
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