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Glimpses of Central Vista Project

2023-01-24

The central government recently released images of the new Parliament building, which is scheduled to be finished by the end of January. The new facility can now accommodate the increasing number of elected representatives over the last few decades. PM Narendra Modi laid the groundwork for this ambitious project in 2020. The Parliament is being built with larger halls, a library, and plenty of parking. Furthermore, the new Parliament's meeting rooms and offices will be outfitted with cutting- edge technology.

The Central Vista project includes the new Parliament building. While media reports claim that one portion of the upcoming Budget session will be held in the new building, the government has yet to release any information on the subject.

‘Council House’ of 1927

The current Parliament building was opened with great fanfare on January 18, 1927, by then-Viceroy Lord Irwin. According to archival documents, the magnificent structure was known as the Council House at the time. The opening of the Parliament House building was widely publicised at the time, according to the news agency PTI. The sprawling structure covered nearly six acres, had a diameter of 560 feet, and a circumference of one-third of a mile. Sir Herbert Baker, who was chosen along with Sir Edwin Lutyens to design the new imperial capital in Delhi, designed the existing structure.

INFORMATION ON NEW PARLIAMENT BUILDING

Ahmedabad-based HCP Design, Planning and Management is behind the designing of the new space. The designing work was led by architect Bimal Patel and the new building has been built adjacent to the existing Parliament House

According to an IE report, the construction began in January 2021, with Tata Projects as the CPWD’s contractor

The new chamber of the Lower House of Parliament (Lok Sabha) now has 888 seats. Its capacity can be expanded for more MPs should the strength of the House increase with future delimitations. The new upper house (Rajya Sabha) chamber has 384 seats

The interiors of the Upper House are lotus themed, while the Lok Sabha has peacock motifs

Unlike in the existing Parliament, the new building does not have a Central Hall. Instead, the Lok Sabha chamber will be used for joint sessions, IE reported

The new Parliament “will have extensive use of wooden structure…rooted in traditional motifs and elements…The floors of the new building would have hand-knotted carpets from Bhadohi in Uttar Pradesh,” according to the MoHUA’s Central Vista website