Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid the foundation stone of the new Parliament building in New Delhi at an event that was attended by leaders from various political parties, cabinet ministers and ambassadors of different countries.
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The new parliament building will be the highlight of the ambitious ₹ 20,000 crore Central Vista project that PM Modi said will become “a symbol of a new and self-reliant India”.
The four-story building will be triangular and its interiors will have three national symbols – the lotus, the peacock and the banyan tree – as its themes.
The triangular shape of the new parliament was a reference to “sacred geometries in various religions and cultures of India”.
In the Lok Sabha chamber, the national bird (peacock) will be the theme. In the Rajya Sabha the national flower (lotus) and in the central lounge the national tree (banyan) will be the theme.
The parliament building alone will cost an estimated ₹ 971 crore and will, the government hopes, be ready before India’s 75th Independence Day anniversary (in 2022). However, construction cannot yet begin as a legal challenge is pending in the Supreme Court.
To be constructed by Tata Projects Ltd, the new parliament building will overlook the old – which was built nearly 100 years ago at a cost of ₹ 83 lakh and will be turned into a museum.
The new Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha halls will have increased seating capacities (888 and 384 seats, respectively) in anticipation of an expanded Parliament; a 25-year-old freeze on increasing state-wise distribution of seats ends in 2026.
In addition, seating in the Lok Sabha hall can be expanded to 1,272 to host joint sessions.
Dholpur stone will be the primary construction material (as it was with the current building) and red granite may replace red sandstone in some interior sections.
The building will be equipped with modern audio-visual communication systems. The new parliament will also be fully wheelchair- and disabled-access friendly.