https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z6-6aJBkC8&t=4505s

The government’s plans to redevelop Lutyens’ Delhi - including the 4-km-long Central Vista - by adding new annexes and demolishing a number of existing buildings has caused immense uproar. 

The Central Vista and its monuments have defined Delhi’s urban landscape for nearly a century, and are an intrinsic part of its built heritage. They have established an indelible imprint in the collective consciousness of Indians, and the world, standing as iconic symbols of the National Capital and its relevance as the seat of political power. It is also a much used public space for the citizens of Delhi.

What implications does this decision have on the future of our built heritage, where citizens’ stake in decision-making has been gravely undermined to satisfy the whimsy of political itinerant?

The panel discussion will aim to focus our attention on the development of the Central Vista from the citizens' perspective.

Panelists: AGK Menon, Urban Planner; Naman Ahuja, Art Historian; Madhav Raman, Architect, and Activist; Tanmay Tathagat, Environment Policy expert.

Chair: MN Ashish Ganju
Collab. Greha
 

About 100 Years of Re-Imagining Delhi: Over a millennia in the making, the urban spatiality of Delhi was last addressed just over a century ago, a colonial divisive Hausmannization of the landscape. As it continues to attract people in one of the largest sustained urban migrations in recent times, Delhi ’s urban environment needs urgent revaluation and action to remain both habitable and equitable. 

This series of panel discussions will address immediate citizen concerns of their inherited city, by engaging with those building for the next hundred years.