ITO most feasible for Delhi govt's proposed twin-tower project: Officials

Don't want to miss the best from Business Standard?

The Delhi government is expected to finalise ITO as the location for its proposed twin-towers, as it has received consent of the Income Tax (IT) department for sharing 4.5 acre land for the project, officials said on Tuesday.

Delhi PWD minister Parvesh Verma held a meeting in which the issue of twin-tower was discussed by officials of his department and the Income Tax department.

"A meeting was held today with the ACS (PWD) and the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax regarding the Twin Tower matter. Senior officials from both departments were present," said the minister in a post on X.

All key points were discussed in detail and clear directions were issued to take the necessary steps in a coordinated and effective manner, he stated.

"There are several options available to us. But ITO has emerged as the most feasible location after all our discussions. Especially with cooperation from the Income Tax department now, we have availability of a bigger plot to come up with development of the infrastructure of the twin-towers," the minister said.

The twin-tower project was conceived by the Delhi government to bring all its departments at one location that are scattered across the city. The government currently functions from the Delhi Secretariat having offices of the chief minister, ministers and top officers of different departments.

"The Income Tax department's Ayakar Bhawan located at ITO is an old building. The department expressed its agreement to share its 4.5 acre land for the proposed twin-tower project in return of 10 lakh square feet built up area in the new buildings to shift its office," a senior government officer said.

Several models are proposed for the twin-tower project. Earlier, six locations were shortlisted out of which the ITO location emerged as the most feasible due to possibility of easy land availability, the officials said.

If the plan moves in the right direction and 4.5 acre land of the IT department is made available, the twin-tower may come up at ITO linking them through a skywalk, said the officials.

"The Delhi government has 13 acres of land available in the form of PWD building and Vikas Bhawan at ITO. The Vikas Bhawan and PWD building lie across the Vikas Marg.

The Aykar Bhawan of IT department lies next to Vikas Bhawan complex. According to the proposed plan, if the land is made available by the IT department, the two towers will be constructed on either side of the Vikas Marg and linked through a skywalk, they said.

According to initial estimates, the twin-towers will come up with 30 lakh square feet of built up space. After meeting the requirements of Delhi government and the demand of the IT department, the remaining space can be rented out to some Central government entity, they said.

The PWD is likely to appoint a transaction adviser to carry forward the estimates once the land issue is finalised, said a senior PWD officer.