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Making of new Parliament: Vision, significance
The newly-built Parliament complex is designed to suit the needs of the modern Indian democracy, marking a shift towards self-reliance.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the new Parliament building on Sunday, built at the cost of ₹971 crore, featuring exquisite artwork and ceremonial sceptre ‘Sengol’, national symbols themed designs among many features. As described by the central government, the vision behind the new complex is to mark the shift towards not just an independent but a self-reliant India.
Part of the Central Vista redevelopment project, the newly-built Parliament complex is designed to incorporate latest technology, sustainability, modern-day amenities and purpose-design spaces to ensure greater efficiency in its seamless operations, the project website states.
Spread across 65,000 square metres, the new triangular-shaped complex is built to reflect the “aspirations of the 135 crore Indians”. The old Parliament, inaugurated in 1927, will soon turn a 100 years old. The pre-independence era iconic structure weathered many crucial milestones including the Indian freedom struggle, adoption of the Constitution of India, historical legislative moments marking a departure from the old colonial rule and remarkable political exchanges that have shaped our country.
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However, the colonial-era building, despite having been modified many times to incorporate changes when needed, faces limitations on further alterations to suit the needs of a modern day Parliament.
The need for the new parliament building is driven by five major factors. The project website states that as the old Parliament showed signs of distress and over-utilisation with time, the new one has been built ensuring it has efficient space utilisation, secure infrastructure, latest communications technology and structural safety of the building and to meet the demand for work spaces.
Narrow seating space
The existing Lok Sabha has a strength of 545 seats as per the delimitation carried out on the basis of 1971 Census. “The seating arrangements are cramped and cumbersome, with no desks beyond the second row,” the project website stated, flagging security risks associated with limited space for movement. The new LS will have a seating capacity of 888 seats and will be able to accommodate 1,272 seats in total for joint sessions, as per the floor plan. It will also have 348 seats for Rajya Sabha, which is based on the Lotus theme.
Distressed infrastructure
Air-conditioning, fire fighting, audio-video systems are some of the modifications incorporated into the existing Parliament, which were not planned originally. This has not only led to “seepages but destroyed the overall aesthetics of the building,” the project website said, noting that “fire safety is a major concern as the building now houses many electrical cables which act as potential fire hazard.”
Communication structures
With time, the advancement in communications infrastructure and technology has rendered the old building inadequate to incorporate all the modifications.
Safety concern
The current Parliament building was built when Delhi was in Seismic Zone-II. The city is currently marked in Seismic Zone-IV. At least 59% of India’s land mass is prone to earthquakes of different intensities. As per the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), nearly 11% of the country falls in zone V, while 18% in zone IV - the vulnerable seismic zones, prone to high intensity earthquakes.
Inadequate workspace
As workspace demand increased in the old building, inner service corridors were converted into offices. This has led to crammed offices whereas in the new building, offices have been designed in an ‘ultra-modern’ fashion to enhance efficiency, the website said.
