New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would lay the foundation stone for the construction of the new Parliament House on December 10. He also said that the new parliament building would be in an area of 64,500 sq m and its construction is estimated to cost a total of Rs 971 crore.
Introducing the details of the proposed building, Birla said, “The present temple of democracy is completing its 100th year. It will be a matter of pride for the countrymen that the new building will be constructed by our own people, which will be a prime example of a self-reliant India. ” He said, “The cultural diversity of the country will be displayed through the new building. It is hoped that on the completion of 75 years of independence, the session of Parliament will be held in the new building. ”
According to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the new building of Parliament will have anti-earthquake capacity and its construction will involve 2000 people directly and 9000 people indirectly. He informed that 1224 MPs will be able to sit together in the new Parliament House and office premises for the MPs of both the Houses will be constructed in place of the existing Shram Shakti Bhawan (near Parliament House). Birla said that the present building of Parliament would be preserved as an archeological property of the country. He said that all the political parties would be invited for the ground breaking ceremony of the new building. Some people will be present on the spot and others will be involved in digital media.
This program will follow all the guidelines related to corona virus. Birla formally invited Prime Minister Modi to the event on Saturday. According to the rules, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha is also the custodian of the Parliament House. Adequate measures have been taken to control air and noise pollution during construction of new building. Birla says the new parliament building will have separate offices for all MPs with modern digital facilities and will be a step towards creating a ‘paperless office’.
The new Parliament House will have a huge Constitution Room, which will showcase India’s democratic heritage. There will also be a lounge for MPs. They will have library, rooms of various committees, dining room and parking area. The Lok Sabha chamber of this building will have a seating capacity of 888 members, while the Rajya Sabha chamber will have a seating capacity of 384 members. This is being done keeping in view the possibility of increasing the number of members of both the houses in future. At present there are 543 members of Lok Sabha and 245 members of Rajya Sabha. Last September, Tata Project Limited was awarded the contract for the construction of the new Parliament House at a cost of Rs 861.90 crore. The new building is under the Central Vista project and will be built near the current Parliament building.
