27 Facts About The New Parliament Building You Should Know

The new parliament building constructed as part of India’s Central Vista Redevelopment Project in New Delhi is ready! It has been built just opposite the old building’s site. As the old Parliament Building had stability issues because it is a 93-year-old structure, the idea of a new parliament building was proposed. In 2012, then-Speaker Meira Kumar suggested some changes for the betterment of the Indian Parliament Building. The building has been modified to a considerable extent to serve the purpose of a modern Parliament.

The Old Parliament House building constructed in 1921 is almost 100 years old and a Heritage Grade-I building. Over the years, it started displaying signs of distress and was not able to meet the current requirements in terms of amenities, space, and technology.

Finally, on 10 December 2020, The Foundation stone of the new parliament building was laid by the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi.

Here is everything you need to know about the New Parliament House:

1. The Central Vista Redevelopment Project was launched by the Indian government in the year 2019 and the construction of a new parliament building was a part of the project

2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the New Parliament Building on 10 December 2020, and work started after that

The new Parliament building construction work is 70% complete in the first week of August 2022, and on August 28 the same year Tata Project CEO announced that the Main structure of the new Parliament completed.

3. The New Parliament Building will cover an area of 65,000 sq. mt. and have a triangular shape to get optimum space utilization

4. The New Parliament Building will have spacious legislative chambers

It will have larger chambers as the narrow legislative chambers of the old building were not spacious enough.

• The capacity of the larger Lok Sabha Hall will be up to 888 seats and the Rajya Sabha Hall will have 384 seats.
• For joint sessions, the new and improved Lok Sabha Hall will be able to accommodate up to 1272 seats. The triangular shape of the building ensures additional space.

5. The new Lok Sabha is designed on the National Bird, Peacock

The Lok Sabha of the New Parliament Building will be three times the size of the Old Lok Sabha area.

6. The Rajya Sabha of the New Parliament Building is designed on the National Flower, it is Lotus themed

7. Bamboo flooring from Tripura, and Mirzapur carpets embellish the New Parliament House

Promoting the ‘Made in India’ initiative, different materials from different parts of India have been used.

Teak wood from Nagpur, famous carpets from Mirzapur, and red and white sandstone from Sarmathura’s Rajasthan have been used in the construction of the Parliament floor. The red granite has been sourced from Lakha near Ajmer, the white marble from Ambaji, Rajasthan, and Kesharia green stone has been procured from Udaipur.

Bamboo for wooden flooring has been supplied by the famous Mutha Industries of Bodhjungnagar, Tripura.

8. The built area of the New Parliament Building is 20,866 m2

9. The New Parliament Building will be Earthquake-resistant

The new construction is designed to withstand earthquakes. The new structure will be reinforced to withstand strong shocks in Zone 5 as Delhi is currently in Zone 4, marked as a location with a higher earthquake risk.

10. The construction of the new building is Eco-friendly

The new Parliament House embraces eco-friendly conventions, using green construction materials. The building utilizes energy-saving devices, thus reducing electricity consumption by 30%. The new design also incorporates rainwater harvesting and solar power generation systems.

11. 530 seats dedicated to media personnel as the new Parliament House will have special facilities for the media

12. The new Parliament design is also made public-friendly, to witness parliamentary proceedings, galleries will be accessible to the general public

As per the new construction, two special entrance points will be set for children, the elderly, and disabled people to access the Central Constitutional Gallery and the Public Gallery.

13. The new building will also have a Sengol, which is inspired by the Chola Kingdom era

Sengol which used to be used for transferring power from one ruler to another.

14. State-of-the-art constitutional hall puts the Indian citizens at the heart of our democracy both physically and symbolically

15. The new building will have a Central Lounge and also a courtyard with the national tree, the Banyan

It will also have an advanced audio-visual system in the committee rooms.

16. In January 2023 new identity cards for MPs were made available by the Lok Sabha Secretariat to access the new Parliament building

According to sources, The MPs are trained on the audio-visual devices that are to be used in the new building.

17. The new Parliament Building library will be magnificent which will help the members of the Parliament collect information from archived material

18. The new Parliament building will be readily accessible to persons with disabilities so that they can enjoy free and independent movement.

19. This colossal project was awarded to Tata Projects for Rs.861.9 crore in the year 2020

But according to sources, due to an increase in the GST on construction, the cost has increased to at least Rs.1,200 crore.

20. It was disclosed by ministry officials that the new parliament building will be ready by the end of January after it missed its deadline which was November 2022

21. According to an official document, The CPWD has invited bids for mechanized housekeeping of the new Parliament building

The estimated cost for that is around ₹24.65 crores for three years.

22. According to sources on May 16, 2023, final touches are being given to the new parliament building

23. On 18 May 2023, Om Birla, Lok Sabha Speaker met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and invited him to inaugurate the New Parliament Building on 28 May 2023

24. Lok Sabha Secretariat revealed that the New Parliament Building symbolizes the spirit of self–reliant India and that the construction is complete now

25. Shah Rukh Khan shared a video introducing the New Parliament Building as the “new abode of democracy”

What a magnificent new home for the people who uphold our Constitution, represent every citizen of this great Nation and protect the diversity of her one People @narendramodi ji.
A new Parliament building for a New India but with the age old dream of Glory for India. Jai Hind!… pic.twitter.com/FjXFZwYk2T

— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) May 27, 2023

26. PM Narendra Modi inaugurates the New Parliament Building on 28th May 2023

The ceremonies of the inauguration commenced in the morning, and a historically important gold sceptre, the sengol was established in the new parliament building.

Sengol appeared to be an important thing containing the meaning of the new Parliament

“to shed not just the remnants of India’s colonial past, but also increasingly to replace the secular governance that followed it”

However, several political critics remarked that Sengol is a symbol suitable only for a monarchy, and not for a democratic Parliament.

#WATCH | PM Modi in the new Lok Sabha, ceremony begins with National Anthem

Members of Parliament, CMs of different States and other dignitaries present pic.twitter.com/mFZoiigvQ8

— ANI (@ANI) May 28, 2023

27. There has been a commotion during the inauguration of the New Parliament House in Delhi when a group of top wrestlers was detained during the ceremony

The protesters near the new parliament were halted by a significant police presence.