Thousands of people gather on the manicured lawns on either side of the wide ceremonial boulevard to enjoy the winter sun or an ice cream on summer evenings.
However, the 3km (1.8 mile) road that runs from the presidential house, Rashtrapati Bhavan, to the India Gate war memorial, now resembles a gigantic dust bowl.
Barricades prevent people from approaching men wearing reflective vests and yellow hard hats who are laying sewage lines and tiled footpaths in the region, which is studded with craters and mounds of soil. A sign forbids taking photographs or recordings.
The work is part of the Central Vista project, which includes a new parliament, new residences for the vice-president and prime minister, and multi-story office buildings.
It'll cost around 200 billion rupees ($2.7 billion; £2 billion).
Since its announcement in September 2019, the project has been dogged by controversy, with detractors claiming that the funds could be better spent on improving people's lives or cleaning up Delhi's air, which is among the dirtiest in the world.
The government refutes these claims, claiming that Central Vista will provide a significant economic boost. Hardeep Singh Puri, the Minister of Urban Development, has stated that it will create "large-scale direct and indirect jobs" and make all Indians "proud."
Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition, has termed it a "criminal waste" and asked Mr Modi to focus instead on combating the disease. Scholars slammed the project in an open letter to Mr Modi, calling it an excessive waste of money "that could have been used to save lives."
The PM's new mansion, which is set to be finished in December 2022, has drawn a lot of derision.
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