Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar inaugurated the Ground Breaking Ceremony of the Central Vista Corridor at Central Secretariat Metro Station in New Delhi on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, marking a significant step in the capital's urban mobility expansion. The corridor is designed to provide seamless underground connectivity to key national institutions and landmarks across the Central Vista precinct.

Context

The Central Vista Corridor will link Central Secretariat Metro Station — an existing interchange on the Yellow and Violet Lines — to prominent destinations including Kartavya Bhawan, India Gate, the National War Memorial, and the Supreme Court of India. Minister Khattar described the project as one that will 'improve accessibility for thousands of employees, citizens, and visitors every day.' The initiative sits within the broader Central Vista Redevelopment Project, which received Union Cabinet approval in 2019 at an estimated cost exceeding Rs 20,000 crore, covering the new Parliament building, secretariat complexes, and public spaces.

Kartavya Bhawan, a key destination on the proposed corridor, is the newly developed central secretariat complex that has become the operational hub for several Union Ministries. Integrating it with the metro network addresses the last-mile connectivity gap that has long been a concern for the tens of thousands of government employees and visitors who access the precinct daily.

Policy Backdrop

The groundbreaking aligns with the Delhi Metro Phase-IV expansion programme, which received Cabinet approval in 2019 and subsequent funding clearances through 2020–22. Phase-IV corridors extend the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC)'s network deeper into central and peripheral Delhi, with the Central Vista link representing one of its most symbolically significant components. Minister Khattar credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'vision of modern, citizen-centric infrastructure' as the guiding force behind the project.

The Government of India has since 2014 pursued large-scale urban transport projects that integrate metro systems with administrative and heritage precincts. Similar integration has been pursued under AMRUT-funded city mobility plans, emphasising time savings and last-mile connectivity to government complexes across the country.

Stakeholders and Impact

The corridor is expected to benefit central government employees, Delhi commuters, and the large number of domestic and international visitors who travel to India Gate and the National War Memorial each year. Enhanced integration with major metro lines, as highlighted by the Minister, is intended to ensure smoother and more efficient travel across the capital without dependence on road transport.

The DMRC, which the Minister described as being elevated to a 'world-class public transport system' through such projects, stands to see a significant increase in ridership as the corridor reduces commuting time for users of the Central Vista precinct. The project also reinforces the role of public transit in reducing vehicular congestion in one of New Delhi's most traffic-intensive corridors.

What's Next

Progress on the Central Vista Corridor will be closely tracked alongside broader Phase-IV metro corridor timelines. Any revised completion schedules or funding updates are expected to be announced through the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs or in upcoming Union Budget deliberations. The project's delivery will be a key marker of the government's ability to integrate the Central Vista redevelopment with functional urban mobility infrastructure before the precinct reaches full operational capacity.