Press brief for Celebration of 169th CPWD Annual Day

Celebrations of 169 th CPWD Annual Day on July 12, 2023 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi Central Public Works Department is completing 169 th year of its Service to the Nation on July 12, 2023. To mark 169 th Year of the glorious existence of CPWD, a function shall be held on Wednesday the July 12, 2023 from 9.00 AM onwards at Plenary Hall, Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Hon’ble Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs shall grace the occasion as the ‘Chief Guest’ and Shri Kaushal Kishore, Hon’ble Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs shall grace the event as ‘Guest of Honour’. Shri Manoj Joshi, Secretary, MoHUA shall also grace the event. During the inaugural function, eight Technical Publications of CPWD shall be released and eleven e-NIRMIT ERP Modules, new CPWD website, a coffee table book on ‘Architectural Marvels of Southern India and Nirman Bharati – in house annual publication of CPWD shall be launched by the dignitaries. CPWD Director General Medals shall be conferred to the best performing officers of the department. A short film on CPWD depicting the activities and achievements of CPWD shall also be screened during the function. On the eve of CPWD Annual Day, a Technical Session shall be held on July 11, 2023 at Hall No. 6, Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi from 0930 hrs to 1730 hrs. Shri Manoj Joshi, Secretary, MoHUA shall grace the event as the ‘Chief Guest’. A Cultural programme shall also be organized by the CPWD Officers Wives Association on July 11, 2023 from 18.30 onwards at Manekshaw Auditorium, Zoravar Hall, Delhi Cantonment.

Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi unveiled the 28 feet high statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, made from monolithic black granite. Ahead of the inauguration of the Kartavya Path, Hon’ble PM interacted with the shramjeevis involved in its construction, highlighting their efforts and contribution to the nation. It was followed by the inauguration of the Kartavya Path by Hon’ble PM. ‘Kartavya Path’ is the new name of the historic Rajpath & Central Vista Lawns which includes the stretch of road and area from the Netaji statue to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The main objective of the project is to refurbish, strengthen and restore the landscape. The Kartavya Path has been made more pedestrian friendly and easier for the traffic to negotiate through. A total of four pedestrian underpasses 8 m wide – two each at Janpath and C-Hexagon junctions – have been provided keeping pedestrian safety in mind. Eight underground public amenity blocks and six vending plazas have been thoughtfully located and designed, keeping existing trees in mind, to make it comfortable for civic users and tourists. The footpath on edges of Kartavya Path, which used to be of Bajri / Murram earlier, have been replaced by granite walkways. The previously inaccessible areas beyond canal have been activated through the introduction of walkways and sixteen permanent bridges. Brief statistics of the work done are as below:

• The Kartavya Path lawns have been refurbished with the selection no.1/ Nilgiri species of grass depending upon whether it is sunny or shadow area. Most of the original Jamun trees have been retained and more trees have been added through a planned strategy of plantation (grass lawns redeveloped: 90 acres).
• Historic chain links and 79 light poles along the Kartavya Path have been Preserved and restored and 58 new poles have been added (total number of light poles: 940).
• Painted concrete bollards have been replaced with sandstone bollards to achievecoherence with the architectural character of the Avenue (total bollards: 1875). .
• Canals have been refurbished to stop seepage and 60 aerators and 28 filtration tanks have been added to ensure that the canals have clean water
• Parking has been designed to accommodate up to 580 cars and 35 buses (in Phase-I)

A Cultural programme shall also be organized by the CPWD Officers Wives Association on July 11, 2023 from 18.30 onwards at Manekshaw Auditorium, Zoravar Hall, Delhi Cantonment.