New Delhi: The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has set March 2020 as the deadline for completing the museum dedicated to the Prime Ministers of India in the Teen Murti Bhavan complex, which houses the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML), officials said.

According to a senior official, the CPWD has chosen an agency for the facade work of the museum and its finishing, installation of lifts, escalators, CCTVs and sewage treatment plants.

The iconic Teen Murti Bhavan was the official residence of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister, and the NMML was set up in his memory on its premises as an autonomous institution under the Union culture ministry.

“The construction work of the museum building is under way,” the official said.

He added that these works would be carried out at a cost of Rs 66 crore.

“We have set the target of March 2020 to construct the museum dedicated to the Prime Ministers of India. Once it is completed, the building will be handed over to the Union culture ministry to shape other works required for the museum,” he said.

Some Congress leaders had opposed the government’s announcement for the museum in 2018, accusing it to be an attempt to dilute the legacy of Nehru.

But Rajnath Singh, the then Union home minister had said that the move was not an attempt to dilute Nehru’s legacy.