India?s new Parliament

India’s new Parliament

News: In the 75th year of Independence, India’s new Parliament building, embodying the culture, pride and spirit of the entire nation, was recently inaugurated by the PM of India.

Background:
 Replacing the old Parliament building, which was completed almost a century ago in 1927, the new structure is a significant addition to the Central Vista project in the national capital.

What was the need for new Parliament building?
 The existing Parliament house is almost a century-old Heritage Grade-I building, showing signs of distress and over-utilization.
 The present building was never designed to accommodate a bicameral legislature for a full-fledged democracy.
 The Central Hall has seating capacity only for 440 persons. It becomes difficult to held Joint-sittings of both the houses.
 The number of Lok Sabha seats is likely to increase significantly from the current 545 after 2026.
 The addition of services like water supply, sewer lines, etc., has led to seepage of water at several places and impacted the aesthetics of the building.
 The old parliament isn’t resilient to face earthquakes. Delhi falls into Seismic-Zone IV.
 Communications infrastructure and technology is antiquated in the existing Parliament, and the acoustics of all the halls need improvement.

Key features of new Parliament building:
 A “Platinum-rated Green Building” with about 65,000 sq m built-up area, will be divyang friendly.
 The triangular shape ensures the optimum utilisation of space.
 A larger Lok Sabha hall (888 seats) based on the peacock theme (India’s national bird) and a larger Rajya Sabha hall (384 seats) based on the lotus theme (India’s national flower).
 The Lok Sabha may accommodate up to 1,272 seats for joint sessions of Parliament.
 A state-of-the-art Constitutional Hall symbolically and physically puts the Indian citizens at the heart of our democracy.
 A Central Lounge that will complement the open courtyard (with a banyan – the national tree) will be a place for members to interact with each other.
 The new Parliament building prioritizes sustainability and eco-friendliness. It will use green construction materials and incorporate devices to save 30 percent electricity consumption. Rainwater harvesting and solar power generation systems will be implemented to promote renewable energy sources.
 Ultra-modern state-of-the-art features like a digitised voting system, well-engineered acoustics and audiovisual systems in the two chambers.
 3 ceremonial entrance halls with huge brass images of Mahatma Gandhi, Chanakya, Gargi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, B.R. Ambedkar, and the Chariot Wheel from the Sun Temple at Konark are on display.
 Special facilities for the media will also be provided in the new Parliament House. A total of 530 seats will be arranged for media personnel.
 The building is designed by Ahmedabad-based HCP Design, Planning and Management under architect Bimal Patel and has been built by Tata Projects Ltd.

Conclusion
 The new parliament building is a symbol of the vision and aspirations of India, the spirit of change and continuity and will witness the making of India as ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.