New Delhi: Files are being packed, rooms are being numbered, and familiar corridors in South Block, North Block and Shastri Bhawan are slowly emptying out. A government order issued this week sets in motion the next round of office shifts to Kartavya Bhawan-02, the newest addition to the Central Vista office complex.
According to an office memorandum issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on January 9, 2026, several ministries and departments have received formal approval to relocate to the new building. The order lays out, floor by floor, where each ministry will now operate from.
Kartavya Bhawan-02 is part of the government’s larger Central Vista redevelopment plan and has been constructed to bring multiple ministries under a single administrative complex. Designed as a modern office block with shared facilities, the building is meant to reduce dependence on ageing structures such as North Block, South Block and Shastri Bhawan, many of which have housed ministries for decades.
Among the major shifts approved is the relocation of the Ministry of Defence from South Block to Kartavya Bhawan-02, where it has been allotted space across two floors. The Ministry of Law and Justice will also move out of Shastri Bhawan and occupy multiple floors in the new building, reflecting a full transition rather than a satellite office.
The Ministry of Culture, which has been functioning from both Shastri Bhawan and Sankalp Bhawan, will now operate entirely from Kartavya Bhawan-02. Other ministries moving out of Shastri Bhawan include Chemicals and Fertilizers, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Information and Broadcasting, and Education, all of which have been assigned space across different floors of the complex based on their operational requirements.
The Central Bureau of Investigation, currently housed in North Block, is also set to shift to the new building. Its offices will be located on the lower floors of Kartavya Bhawan-02, marking a significant change from its long-standing base in the old Secretariat complex.
To manage the transition, the Central Public Works Department has set up a facilitation centre within the building. The centre will assist ministries with the shifting of inventories, access to building services, familiarisation with facilities, security arrangements, and movement and parking planning. The order notes that dedicated parking spaces for ministries will be notified separately.
All ministries and departments relocating to Kartavya Bhawan-02 have been asked to nominate nodal officers to coordinate with the facilitation centre and oversee the shifting process.
While the memorandum is administrative in nature, it captures a broader change underway in the capital. As Kartavya Bhawan-02 begins to fill up, offices that once worked out of some of Delhi’s most recognisable government buildings are quietly moving into a new phase of the Central Vista project.
BI Bureau
