Amid of several row, finally, India has a new Parliament building that embodies the culture, pride and spirit of the entire nation. Here’s what to know about the new building.
The official website of the Central Vista project makes the point that the existing Parliament House, which was commissioned in 1927, is almost a century old Heritage Grade-I building that has seen a massive increase in Parliamentary activities and users over the decades.
The constructions and modifications have been made over time, and the building “is showing signs of distress and over-utilisation and not able to meet the current requirements in terms of space, amenities and technology.”
The present building was never designed to accommodate a bicameral legislature for a full-fledged Democracy. The number of Lok Sabha seats is likely to increase significantly from the current 545 after 2026, when the freeze on the total number of seats lifts.
As per the officials statements, the seating arrangements are cramped and cumbersome, with no desks beyond the second row. The Central Hall has seating capacity only for 440 persons. When the Joint Sessions are held, the problem of limited seats amplify. Due to limited space for movement, it is also a huge security risk.
The addition of services like water supply and sewer lines, airconditioning, firefighting equipment, CCTV cameras, etc., have led to seepage of water at several places and impacted the aesthetics of the building. Fire safety is a major concern at the building.
The current Parliament building was built when Delhi was in Seismic Zone-II; currently it is in Seismic Zone-IV, says the website. This raises structural safety concerns.