U.P. govt launches fresh search for new legislature cum secretariat building
The Uttar Pradesh government is searching for a suitable land site to build a new legislature cum secretariat building due to space constraints. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath wants a large building to accommodate both houses of the state legislature and all the offices in the secretariat buildings. The government is exploring various options, including land in Vrindavan Yojana and near Nehru Enclave. A preliminary study has been allocated ₹50 crore in the state's budget for 2023-2024.
Uttar Pradesh government has launched a fresh search for an appropriate land site that could accommodate a new legislature cum secretariat building for the state.
The need for a new legislature cum secretariat building arose due to space constraints faced by the current Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Bhawan. Although various solutions, such as adding more seats for MLAs in the existing Vidhan Sabha Hall, have been explored in recent months to address this issue, the need for additional space persists.
Those familiar with the development said that a fresh search has been launched after chief minister Yogi Adityanath turned down the option of having a new building to house Uttar Pradesh’s bicameral legislature- the Vidhan Sabha (legislative assembly) and Vidhan Parishad (legislative council)- in the vicinity of the current Vidhan Bhawan, which also houses the present Darul Shafa etc.
The decision is reportedly based on the inadequate space available for accommodating the new structure. “Yes, the space around Vidhan Bhawan (including near Darulshafa) is not suffiecient to house the new legislature building. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath wants a large building that could accommodate not only the two houses of state legislature but also all the offices situated in the secretariat buildings like Bapu Bhawan and Yojana Bhawan. So, a fresh search for a new site has been launched and the consultant HCP, which designed the Central Vista of parliament, has been asked to come up with some other options,” said an officer aware of the development.
This option of using the Darulshafa space near Vidhan Bhawan was considered in the 1990s as well. A replica of the existing Vidhan Bhawan was proposed in front of the existing Vidhan Bhawan. Lok Bhawan has now been established on a part of this area, leaving insufficient space available.
It has been noted that the possibility of using the land from the Nawab Wazid Ali Shah Zoological Gardens in Lucknow, which is being relocated to an alternate site in the Kukrail forest area, has not yet been taken into consideration.
The state government is currently zeroing down its options of land in Vrindavan Yojana where the Global Investors Summit-2023 and Defence Expo 2020 were held. Other sites being explored are some defence land including the area near Nehru Enclave and the available area near CG farm and Janeshwar Mishra Park.
“We are making efforts to narrow down the options before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. We are, however, not sure of completing the task in such a short time span,” said another officer aware of the development.
The state government has earmarked a token sum of ₹50 crore for the purpose of carrying out preliminary study in the state’s budget for 2023-2024.
A new building for Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Bhawan has been considered on the pattern of Central Vista, New Delhi. The current Vidhan Bhawan building was constructed in 1928. UP’s then governor Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler had laid the foundation stone of the grand building on December 15, 1922, and it was inaugurated on February 21, 1928. A sum of ₹21 lakh was sanctioned for the Vidhan Bhawan building, which is the finest example of Indo-European architectural craftsmanship