New rural development ministry office to come up

The Union government has decided to make a new headquarters for the Ministry of Rural Development here, which will also house offices of other related departments and organisations.

The move aims to have a single operations centre for planning and implementation of rural development schemes.

The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) was assigned the responsibility to build the ministry's head office -- 'Grameen Vikas Bhavan' -- at the Kasturba Gandhi Marg in New Delhi.

A 'green building' with proper arrangements for water and energy conservation, the building will not only generate 250 kilowatt of solar power, but also reuse 200 kilolitres of water everyday for gardening and cleaning purpose.

The building will also have other facilities such as a Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) dispensary, bank, post office and a creche for the employees' children.

A senior official from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs said after completion of the planning work, all necessary approvals for the construction had been taken and the CPWD would begin the project in July.

The construction of the building will be completed by July 2021 with an estimated cost of Rs 450 crore. There will be a cafeteria offering regional cuisines in the basement.

Currently the 'Krishi Bhavan' -- the headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare -- houses the offices of Ministries of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, along with offices of other departments of the Centre.

The CPWD recently completed work on the headquarters of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and before that it made 'Jawahar Bhavan' for the Ministry of External Affairs.

The building will also have offices for ministers and officials to fast-track formulation and implementation of rural development schemes.

To be built following international standards on an area of around 14 thousand square metres, the building will also have meeting rooms and a grand auditorium for conferences.

The walls of the nine-storey building will display the rich cultural heritage and daily life in villages.