Shastri Bhawan, Krishi Bhawan asked to vacate by Sept end for new Kartavya Bhawan

The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has asked government departments to vacate and hand over the Shastri Bhawan and Krishi Bhawan premises by the end of September, paving the way for construction of Kartavya Bhawan (KB) 4 and 5 in central Delhi.

The two buildings, constructed during the post-Independence expansion of the Central Secretariat in the 1950s and 1960s, were built to accommodate the Union government’s expanding administrative machinery beyond the original North and South Blocks. They are now set to make way for the next phase of the Central Secretariat redevelopment.

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HT had earlier reported that the tender for construction of KB-4 and KB-5 was first floated in January 2026, but was re-tendered in June at a cost nearly 5% higher than the original estimate.

The current tender pegs the cost of the project at ₹3,155.41 crore, compared with ₹3,006.07 crore in the tender floated in January. The increase of ₹149.34 crore amounts to nearly 4.97%. The revised tender expands the total combined footprint of Common Central Secretariat (CCS) 4 and CCS-5 by 115 square metres.

An official said the revised estimate was the result of a “slight modification” in the design. “There has been some optimisation in the planning. Certain areas that were earlier kept as open or common spaces have been converted into usable office space, which has led to a marginal increase in the built-up area and associated costs,” the official said.

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The first three Kartavya Bhawan buildings were constructed at a sanctioned cost of ₹3,690 crore and were inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August this year.

Officials said the higher cost of CCS-4 and CCS-5 was also linked to the technology being used for the new buildings. The technology is relatively more expensive but is intended to help complete the seven-storey structures within a construction timeline of two years.