PMO may shift in Sept from South Block to Executive Enclave-I

NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister's Office is likely to shift from South Block to the newly built Executive Enclave-I - a few hundred metres away - next month, sources said. Soon, the Cabinet Secretariat will also shift from Rashtrapati Bhavan to this new office complex, which is also likely to get a new name.

Ministries of home affairs and personnel have almost been shifted to Kartavya Bhawan-3, which PM Narendra Modi inaugurated earlier this month. TOI has learnt that PMO may move in the second half of Sept.


Officials said going by the trend of govt naming all Central Vista projects, such as Ka-rtavya Path (earlier Raj Path) and Kartavya Bhawan, signifying a change in its approach, Executive Enclave-I may also get a name, something linked to 'service' (sewa).

North & South Block to be turned into public museum
In his address to PMO officials after taking oath for the third consecutive time as PM, Modi had said, "PMO should become an institution of service and the people's PMO" and that it should serve as a catalytic agent, generating new energy to provide light to the entire system.

Shifting of offices from North Block and South Block to new buildings is crucial as the govt is keen to expedite the conversion of these two iconic buildings into a public museum called 'Yuge Yugeen Bharat Sangrahalaya'. The Prime Minister had recently said that this will allow every citizen to witness and experience India's rich civilisational journey.

The British-era North Block and South Block buildings have been the power centre for nearly 80 years, housing offices of the Prime Minister, and ministries of defence, home, external affairs and finance.

A govt source, who was earlier involved in the master planning of the Central Vista revamp project, told TOI that one of the main rationale behind shifting these top offices, which make national policies, from these two buildings was to remove traces of colonial mindset.