Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of the new Parliament building on Thursday (December 10). This new building, spread across an area of around 64,500 sq metres, will replace the 93-year-old Parliament building.
The prime minister will perform the groundbreaking ceremony at 1 pm. He is also scheduled to address the people at 2.15 pm.
On Saturday, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had invited PM Modi to perform the groundbreaking ceremony of the new Parliament building, “We started the journey of independent India in the old building, and when we complete 75 years, we will have the session of both Houses in the new Parliament building… It will not be a building of bricks and stones, it will be the fulfilment of the dreams of 130 crore people,” Birla had said.
In a letter to PM Modi on Wednesday (December 9), Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had congratulated the Prime Minister and called the Central Vista project a “symbol of self-esteem, prestige and national pride of a resurgent, confident and strong India”.
Meanwhile, on Monday (December 7), the Supreme Court barred any construction for the Central Vista project. However, it allowed the foundation stone laying ceremony. The apex court said, “You can lay the foundation stone, you can carry on paperwork but no construction or demolition, no cutting down any trees.”
The proposed Parliament building for the Central Vista project will house 888 members in the Lok Sabha Chamber, while during Joint Sessions the capacity can be increased to 1224 Members.
The project is estimated to cost around Rs 971 crore. It is expected to be completed in August 2022 when the country will celebrate its 75th Independence Day. Apart from the construction of a new parliament building, the project also includes revamping of a 3-km-long stretch from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate and building of a common central secretariat.
