New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for a new Parliament building on December 10, Lok Sabha Chairman Om Birla said on Saturday. The new building will have an area of 64,500 square meters and is being built at an estimated cost of 971 million rupees, he said.
“The existing temple of democracy is turning 100 … It is a source of pride for our compatriots that the new one is built by our own people as an excellent example of Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” Birla said here while announcing the details of the new building proposed. . “The new building will showcase the cultural diversity of the country. Hopefully, in the 75th year of independence, the session of Parliament will be held in the new building,” he said.
Birla said the new building will be earthquake resistant and 2,000 people will be directly involved in the construction of the new building and 9,000 indirectly. He said up to 1,224 MPs can sit together in the building, while a new office complex for all MPs from both houses would be built on the site of current Shram Shakti Bhawan.
The existing Parliament building will be preserved as it is an archaeological asset of the country, Birla said. He said that the invitation will be extended to all political parties. While some would attend physically and others would attend virtually, Birla said, adding that the ceremony would follow Covid-related guidelines.
Lok Sabha President Om Birla extended a formal invitation to Modi on Saturday. Under the rules, the speaker of the lower house of parliament is also the custodian of the parliament building. Sufficient measures have been taken to control air pollution and noise during the construction works of the new parliament building, which will have separate offices for all MPs and which will be equipped with the latest digital interfaces as a step towards creating ‘ paperless offices. ‘
The new building will also have a large Constitution Hall to showcase India’s democratic heritage, a hall for Members of Parliament, a library, multiple commission rooms, dining rooms, and ample parking space. In the new building, the Lok Sabha chamber will have a capacity of 888 members, while Rajya Sabha will have 384 seats for the members of the upper house.
This has been done taking into account the future increase in the membership of the two houses. At present, Lok Sabha has an authorized force of 543 members and Rajya Sabha of 245.
In September this year, Tata Projects Limited won the tender to build the new parliament building at a cost of Rs 861.90 crore. The new building will be constructed close to the existing one as part of the Central Vista remodeling project. The current Parliament House building will be appropriately modernized to provide more functional spaces for parliamentary events to ensure its use in conjunction with the new building.
The existing building is a huge circular building 560 feet in diameter. The estate of the House of Parliament is surrounded by an ornamental wall of red sandstone or iron railings with iron gates that can be closed when the occasion demands. The building has 12 doors.
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