Foundation stone of the new parliament building will be laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 10.
Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla has formally invited Prime Minister Modi for the event.
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The new Parliament building is expected to get functional on the Country’s Independence Day in 2021.
India will celebrate its 75th Independence Day on August 15, 2021.
Talking about the features of the new Parliament building, Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla said, “There will be approximately 888 seats for Lok Sabha members and more than 326 seats for Rajya Sabha members in the new building. The Lok Sabha hall will be able to accommodate 1224 members simultaneously.”
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The Lok Sabha speaker further asserted that the new building will be a ‘temple of Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, which will reflect the diversity of the nation.
“This will be one such temple of Aatmanirbhar Bharat that will reflect the diversity of the nation. It will be 17,000 sq m bigger than the old Parliament building,” he said.
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Tata Projects Limited will carry out the construction of the new Parliament building.
It will come up close to the existing one and will be built at a cost of Rs 861.90 crore under the Central Vista redevelopment project.
The new building will also be earthquake proof.
Om Birla further said that the outlook of the new building will be similar to the existing one.
“There will be a basement, ground, first and second floors in the new building and its height will be same as the old building so that both should are in symmetry,” he said.
Moreover, the offices of all MPs in the new Parliament building will be equipped with the latest digital interfaces as a step towards creating ‘paperless offices’.
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On the other hand, the existing Parliament building will be conserved as it is an archaeological asset of the country.
It will be suitably retro-fitted to provide more functional spaces for parliamentary events, to ensure its usage along with the new building.
The existing building is a massive circular edifice of 560 feet in diameter.
The foundation stone of the existing Parliament House was laid on February 12, 1921, and the construction took six years and cost Rs 83 lakh at that time.
The opening ceremony was performed on January 18, 1927, by the then Governor General of India, Lord Irwin.