India's Triangle Parliament
A Triangle Parliament? Yeah, that's what I thought. But it's true. The new proposed Parliament is going to be developed during the upcoming months and scheduled to be open for use in about 2 years.
But... Why do we need a new Parliament when we already have one?
Well, to answer that, we need to know when the current Parliament was constructed? The current Parliament's construction started in 1921 and opened in 1927. So, it has been used by our Members of Parliament(MP) for more than 93 years!
93 years of use would make any building to lose its structural Integrity. This made the Government of India to look for a new Parliament building plan. Although, the age of the building is not the only reason for the government to start considering for a new building, there have been other reasons as well, such as - less capacity: The current capacity of the parliament(both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha combined) is 790. Capacity of Lok Sabha is maximum of 550 members. It has been written in the Article 81 - Indian Constitution mentioning that the Lok Sabha capacity should not be more than 550. The strength of the members in Lok Sabha has not been increased since 1977 although the population of India has increased exponentially.
Population in 1977(estimated) - 65.24 Crores - 550 Members of Parliament:
1 Member of Parliament = 11.8 Lakh people (average)
Population in 2020(estimated) - 138 Crores - 550 Members of Parliament:
1 Member of Parliament = 25 lakh people (average)
The newly proposed Parliament would have an estimated capacity of 1350, this would help in increasing the number of MP's. Also, the proposed plan looks like the building will be coming beside the old Parliament.
Tata Projects Limited - a subsidiary of TATA won the tender and hence will be developing the Parliament complex. The cost of building the new Parliament is estimated at 861.90 Crores. Time to complete the construction is 21 Months. Om Birla - Hon'ble Speaker of Lok Sabha mentioned that he hopes that the new Parliament will be completed by 2022. The plan of completion of the New Parliament coincides with the 75th Independence celebrations in 2022.
Schematic of Parliament Building:
There will be three separate areas inside the Triangular parliament similar to the current one.
1. Lok Sabha: Also known as "House of People" or "Lower House" where a Member of Parliament elected by citizens would preside for their day-to-day business for welfare of the nation.
2. Rajya Sabha: Also known as "Council of States" or "Upper House" where a member is elected by the States.
3. Joint-Sitting: This is where the members of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will conduct joint-sessions in presence of the President.
Is the Parliament the only building to be developed?
No, The Government of India has planned for the complete re-development of areas in and around Parliament complex. The Parliament plan comes under the "Central Vista" plan. "Central Vista" plan includes development of Raj path, Prime Minister's House, Vice President's House, South Block and North Block.
