Supreme Court to hear Central Secretariat Library relocation matter Monday

Spread over four floors and an area of nearly 5,500 sq m, the CSL contains more than 8.5 lakh books, including rare books, official records and gazetteers. (Express photo by Renuka Puri)

The Supreme Court has taken cognisance of a news report on the lack of a relocation plan for the 150-year-old library in the Shastri Bhavan building, which is proposed to be demolished as part of the Central Vista revamp plan.

The matter, registered under the title “In Re: 135-Yr-Old Library 8.5 Lakh Books– And No Room In The New Central Vista Plan”, will be heard by a bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva on October 5.

On September 30, The Indian Express reported how when King George V announced the decision to shift the capital of British India from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911, the Central Secretariat Library (CSL), then known as the Imperial Secretariat Library, moved with it, finding its first home in the Old Secretariat Building in the Civil Lines area. After the British built a new seat of power around Raisina Hill, the library moved again, to the North Block and then to Shastri Bhawan, where it has remained since 1969.

The report said that with Shastri Bhawan set to be pulled down as part of the Central Vista revamp plan, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and Central Public Works Department (CPWD) are yet to find space for one of the oldest central government libraries, founded in 1891, and its second largest, after the National Library, Kolkata.

Spread over four floors and covering nearly 5,500 square metres, the CSL contains more than 8.5 lakh books, including rare books, official records, and gazetteers, and continues to receive a steady stream of visitors, including government officials and students preparing for competitive exams. The oldest book, in a separate section of rare books in the library, is the compilation of a French traveller’s writings, dating back to 1702.

On September 17, the CPWD wrote to all ministries and departments situated in Shastri Bhavan, saying the complex be vacated, including all furniture, electronic items and other belongings, “at the earliest” as it “needs to be handed over… by the end of September 2026 for the commencement of the construction work”.

Two rooms at Kartavya Bhawan-2 ‘insufficient’

Sources told The Indian Express that in January, the Directorate of Estates under the MoHUA allotted two rooms, occupying 300 square metres, at Kartavya Bhawan-2 for the CSL. The Ministry of Culture, which administers the CSL, rejected this, replying that the space allotted was far from sufficient, as per sources.

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A day after the Indian Express report, the MoHUA said in a post on X that “contrary to a few reports, it is clarified that space for the Central Secretariat Library has been provided for in the Kartavya Path redevelopment plan. The necessary process for construction of the library is underway.”