New Parliament building to be ready by Winter session: Hardeep Puri

Kochi: With less than a month to go for the November deadline, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday said construction work of the new Parliament building is going on at a very fast pace. The government has been maintaining that the project would be completed by November and the winter session would be held in the new building.

Addressing a press conference here after inaugurating '15th Urban Mobility India (UMI) Conference & Expo', Puri said there are over 4,000 people working round-the- clock on the project. Responding to a question on whether the project would meet the deadline, he said, "I go there (construction site) every week. The work is going on at very fast pace. We have something 4,000 people working round-the-clock on it."

On the completion of the project, the minister said it was up to the government to make the announcement regarding the date. Puri asserted that the construction work is processing very well. Generally, the winter session of Parliament takes place in November-December. The new building will be triangular in shape and the National Emblem has been installed at the new structure.

The redevelopment of the Central Vista, the nation's power corridor, also envisages a common central secretariat, revamping of the 3-km Rajpath from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to the India Gate, new office and residence of the prime minister, and a new vice-president enclave.

In December 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone of the new Parliament building which will have modern facilities. Tata Projects Ltd is constructing the building. The new building will also have a grand Constitution Hall to showcase India's democratic heritage, a lounge for members of Parliament, a library, multiple committee rooms, dining areas and ample parking space.

Under the Central Vista redevelopment project, the government will also construct an Executive Enclave that will house a new Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Cabinet Secretariat, India House and National Security Council Secretariat.

On August 4, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishore had told Lok Sabha that the physical progress of the new Parliament building is 70 per cent and the month of November is the deadline to complete the project.