Preparations underway to hold Parliament's winter session in old building: Sources

Preparations are in full swing to hold the winter session of Parliament in the existing building from December 7 and with the November deadline for completing the new building over, efforts are being made to finish the project work at the earliest, official sources said on Thursday.

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. November is the deadline to complete the project, he had said. The sources said besides the COVID-19 pandemic, there were several other factors, including the Russia-Ukraine war affecting overseas deliveries, which impacted the construction work of the new parliament building.

"When you look at the contract condition, there were also unforeseen circumstances mentioned in the document. The Ukraine-Russia war is an unforeseen circumstance and the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic was also an unforeseen circumstance," an official source told PTI.

Preparations are in full swing to hold the winter session in the existing Parliament building, another source said. The session will begin from December 7 and continue till December 29.

On November 4, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had said construction work of the new Parliament building is going on at a very fast pace.

The new Parliament building is part of the redevelopment of the Central Vista, the nation's power corridor.

Revamping of the three-km Rajpath from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to the India Gate, a common central secretariat, a new office and residence of the prime minister, and a new vice-president enclave are also part of the project.

In December 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone of the new Parliament building, which is being constructed by Tata Projects Limited.

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.