Days after the Supreme Court upheld the environmental clearance granted to Central Vista Project, the construction of the new Parliament building might begin from January 15 as it is considered auspicious day, sources said on Wednesday.
The Central Vista revamp, announced in September 2019 envisages a new triangular Parliament building, with seating capacity for 900 to 1,200 MPs, that is to be constructed by August 2022 when the country will be celebrating its 75th Independence Day.
A three-judge bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar, by 2:1 majority, held on January 5 that the grant of the environmental clearance and the notification for change in land use for the project was valid.
"The Central Public Works Department has asked Tata Projects Ltd to start the construction work of the new parliament building on January 15 as it is considered auspicious to commence such a project on the day of first dawn after 'Makar Sankranti'," official sources said. The new building is being constructed by Tata Projects Ltd.
The redevelopment project of the Central Vista -- the nation's power corridor will revamp the three-km-long Rajpath from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate, new Prime Minister Residence and PMO, and a new Vice-President Enclave.
Sources said that Tata Projects started mobilising machinery and other items required to start construction work.
The Heritage Conservation Committee on Monday gave its nod to the new Parliament project, after the Supreme Court asked the Centre to seek prior approval from the panel and other relevant authorities before starting construction work.
According to the plan, work on redevelopment of Rajpath will start soon after this year's Republic Day parade. The work is expected to be completed in the next 10 months and the 2022 Republic Day parade will be held on a redeveloped Rajpath.
Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone of the new Parliament building, which is expected to be completed by the 75th anniversary of India's independence and is estimated to cost Rs 971 crore.
The new building will come up in front of the existing Parliament House that was built nearly 94 years ago at a cost of Rs 83 lakh at that time and would eventually be turned into a museum.
The new building will house larger Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Halls, with capacities of 888 seats and 384 seats respectively, to accommodate an expanded Parliament after the freeze on its expansion lifts in 2026. The Lok Sabha Hall will also have additional capacity, up to 1,272 seats, to host joint sessions.
According to the plan, provisions in the furniture will be made for smart displays and biometrics for ease of voting with an intuitive and graphical interface, digital language interpretation and recording infrastructure to produce real-time metadata, programmable microphones that put the control of managing the house with the speaker.
(With PTI inputs)
