CPWD sets target for constructing museum on PMs by March, 2020

The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has set a target of March next year for constructing the "Museum on Prime Ministers of India" in the Teen Murti Bhavan complex here, which houses the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML), officials said.

According to a senior official, the CPWD has chosen an agency for the facade works of the museum, civil finishing, installation of lifts, escalators, CCTVs and sewage treatment plants (STPs) among others.

The iconic Teen Murti Bhavan was the official residence of Jawaharlal Nehru, the country's first prime minister, and the NMML was set up on its premises in his memory as an autonomous institution under the Union Ministry of Culture.

"The construction work of the museum building is underway. At a recent meeting of the CPWD's central works board, a private agency was chosen to execute the works of facade, civil finishing, lifts, escalators, CCTV cameras, STPs and security system among others," the official said.

He added that these works would be carried out at a cost of around Rs 66 crore.

"We have set the target of March, 2020 to construct the Museum on Prime Ministers of India. Once it is completed, the building will be handed over to the Union Culture Ministry to shape other works required for museum," he said.

When the government announced the museum in July 2018, there was some opposition from Congress leaders.

The then Union home minister Rajnath Singh had said the move was not an attempt to dilute the legacy of Nehru, who held the office of prime minister for 17 years.

The CPWD is the largest construction agency of the government and it looks after the maintenance of central government buildings and erecting of fences at the country's international borders among others.

It also carries out projects in foreign countries under friendship programmes with India.