PM Narendra Modi inaugurates flats for MPs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated 76 multi-storeyed flats for Members of Parliament, through video conferencing. The flats, located at Dr BD Marg in the heart of New Delhi, have replaced eight 80-year-old bungalows.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony, the Prime Minister said, “Decades old problems don’t end by avoiding them, but by finding solutions,” as he highlighted the landmark legislations and developmental works undertaken by his government since coming to power in 2014.

The PM said that although talks regarding the Ambedkar National Memorial began during the term of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, it was built after a gap of 23 years by his government.

The new building of the Central Information Commission, the War Memorial near India Gate and the National Police Memorial were also built by this government, he said.

Praising the high productivity of Parliament, especially Lok Sabha, Modi said that MPs have taken care of both legislations and the processes in Parliament.

He also praised Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for his stewardship of the house and expressed happiness that Parliament proceedings continued even during the pandemic, keeping in mind the protocol to arrest the spread of Covid-19.

This period has been “historic” in the nation’s development, the PM said.

As the age of 16, 17 and 18 years is very important for the youth, so is the time between the 16th and the 18th Lok Sabha for a young nation like India, he said. “I am confident the next Lok Sabha (2024-29) will also play a very important role in taking the country ahead in this new decade... There is so much for the country that we have to achieve. Be it Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliance) campaign, or economic targets or many other pledges like this, we have to achieve them during this period,” he said.

The PM added that green building norms were incorporated during the construction of the multi-storey flats for the MPs. He hoped that the new flats will keep the MPs and all residents safe and sound.

A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office had earlier said that the construction of these flats has been completed with savings of about 14 per cent from the sanctioned cost and without time overrun despite the impact of Covid-19.