In 2022 India is all set to celebrate its 75th year of independence but apart from the legacy of a vibrant and functional democracy, we will also be witnessing the construction of a new Parliament building after all these years of independence. And it is for the construction of this new Parliament building that PM Narendra Modi is all set to lay the foundation stone today. The Indian parliament building as it stands today has been operational for all these years since the independence and has come to become the symbol of Indian democracy but now the country is all set to witness the foundation stone laying of an altogether new and modern parliament building. As PM Modi is all set to lay the foundation stone for the new parliament building, all prominent leaders and representatives of all parties will be present either physically or virtually to become part of the event. This announcement had been made at a press conference on Saturday and Speaker Om Birla who said,“We started the journey of independent India in the old building and when we complete 75 years, we will have the session of both Houses in the new parliament building… but it will not be a building of bricks and stones, it will be the fulfilment of the dreams of 130 crore people.”
The new parliament building is being built by the Tata Projects Ltd and the design of the new parliament building has been made by the HCP Design, Planning and Management Pet Ltd. The construction of the new parliament building is scheduled to follow soon after PM Narendra Modi lays the foundation stone for it and does the Bhoomi Pujan on December 10 at 1 pm. It is expected that the project for the new parliament building will deliver itself by 2022.
The sprawling new parliament will be built in a 64,500 square metre area and is estimated to cost Rs 971 crore. The building has been planned in a manner that there will be six entrances to it.There will be a ceremonial entrance for the coming in of the Prime Minister and the President, one for the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha and the Members of Parliament(MPs) and there will also be two entrances for the public.
The new parliament complex will also have four floors-lower ground, upper ground, first and second floors. It will boast of around 120 office spaces and have committee rooms, offices of the ministry of parliamentary affairs, Lok Sabha Secretariat, offices of the Prime Minister and some Members of the Parliament and offices for staff and security personnel serving at the parliament building. In addition to the above, it will also have a reading room for the MPs. It wouldn’t have any central hall.
Moreover the Lok Sabha chamber in the new parliament complex will have 888 seats instead of the 543 seats in the present Parliament building. The Rajya Sabha Chamber will have 384 seats and not 245 seats as holds true in the building being used at present. But when there are joint proceedings, the Lok Sabha Chamber will be capable of holding 1,224 members. An adjacent building will be built to the new parliament building which will have the offices of the MPs and will be connected through an underpass and have access to the best of digital technology. It will also be earthquake proof. In addition to the above, the new parliament building will have furniture which has provision for smart displays, biometrics, digital language interpretations, recording and programmable microphones too. It has been designed in a manner that it will incorporate traditional architecture from all over the county and will showcase cultural diversity of the country.
It is estimated that more than 2,000 people will be directly involved in its construction while more than 9,000 will be part of it in indirect ways and 200 artists from different parts of the country will also be working for the beautification of the building.
The building is also going to be conserved as archeological heritage of the country.
