Why New Winter Session in new Parliament building evokes interest

New Delhi: Efforts are underway to finish the remaining work of the new Parliament building as early as possible, say officials privy to the development, so that the coming Winter Session is held in the triangular shape structure.

“We are making an all-out effort to ensure the Winter Session is held in the new Parliament building,” officials privy to the development told news agency PTI. There is no plan yet to extend the deadline considering the national importance of this project, sources told the news agency.

Last week, the government informed Lok Sabha that construction work on the new Parliament building, as part of the Central Vista Development and Redevelopment Plan (CVDRP), was 70% over and would be ready by November 2022.

As per the information shared so far, the new complex will have 888 seats in the Lok Sabha chamber and 384 seats in the Rajya Sabha chamber. Unlike the present parliament building, it will not have a Central Hall and the Lok Sabha chamber itself will be able to house 1272 members in case of a joint session.

PM ‘violated’ secular principles by offering puja atop the new building: Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had held puja atop the under construction triangular shape building which triggered a lot of controversy with opposition parties terming the move against the secular and democratic principle of the Constitution. The ceremony was a violation of the principle of separation of powers between the legislature and executive, political leaders say. Further, opposition leaders as well as historians raised objections over the ‘aggressive lion” shown in the emblem atop the new building.  Debate is still raging with historians expressing angst over the essence of the original “protective” Ashokan lions has been effaced.

Controversies surrounding Central Vista Project

Controversies of all sorts marred the mega Central Vista project – the parliament building is part of it – ever since the PM laid the foundation stone for the mega project in December, 2020. The opposition leaders raised questions on the necessity of the expensive project.

Necessity for a new building amid heritage concerns: Questions were raised over the necessity of the new Parliament building when fully functional Parliament building already exists. Besides, the proposed demolition of heritage structures, loss of green cover, fudging of the environment impact assessment (EIA) and proposed demolition of heritage sites were some of the points over which opposition parties and citizens raised questions. A total of 4,58,820 square meters of the total built-up area will be demolished for the project, according to a Citizen Matter report. The redevelopment also envisages a common central secretariat, revamping of the 3-km Rajpath from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to the India Gate, a new office and residence of the prime minister, and a new vice-president enclave.

Extravaganza: The opposition also knocked the Supreme Court door to prevent the project, but in vain. There was hue and cry over the amount being incurred into the project. The opposition parties put the estimate roughly Rs 20,000 but the government rejected the figure. According to the government, the Central Vista Redevelopment Projects was going on at the estimated budget of Rs 13,450 crore from September 2019 till a set year of completion in 2026.  The new parliament building costs another ₹ 282 crore, sources said in January this year and added that the 29 per cent hike over the budgeted cost of ₹ 977 crore came more than a year after the groundbreaking ceremony in December 2020.

Government arguments: Centre told Supreme Court that the project was not a waste of money but would save public funds worth Rs 1,000 crore. It said that the administration had been spending annually on rent expenditure. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta also defended the redevelopment of the Parliament building, saying the 100-year-old structure was showing signs of distress and faced safety issues, something that has been voiced by its members and speakers too.