NEW DELHI: Cushioned handwoven carpets of Mirzapur, teakwood furniture of Nagpur and Mumbai and wooden floors of Agartala bamboo will welcome MPs when they enter the
new Parliament
building during the winter session of 2022.
Similarly materials from across the country have been used like Kesharia greenstone of
Udaipur
, white marble of Ambaji, red marble of Lakha in Ajmer, and sandstone of Sirmathura in the “first Indian
Parliament
built by the people, of the people and for the people of the country.”
“The new Parliament is an intrinsic part of the vision for Azadi@75 and symbolises our commitment and efforts towards building self reliant India. It has been designed and is being built by Indians using Indian materials,” secretary housing and urban development
Durga Shanker Mishra
told reporters at the construction site, a couple of days after PM Modi’s surprise late evening visit to the site.
He said the PM has reviewed the status of construction activities at the site multiple times and his noteworthy inputs have been instrumental towards enhancement of functionality of the new building.
With an architectural strategy to harmonise the two buildings such that they work in conjunction, the new Parliament building’s architecture and aesthetics will reference the present Parliament building, other buildings of the Central Vista, and the classical, folk and tribal arts and crafts of India.
The Lok Sabha and
Rajya Sabha
interiors will have reference to the national bird (Peacock) and national flower (Lotus) respectively.
While the courtyard will have national tree (Banyan), national emblem will crown the new Parliament building.
Mishra said that with a construction timeline of 21 months, it is planned that the new Parliament building will house the winter session of Parliament in its 75th anniversary of Independence in 2022. It will cater to the future demands of ‘New India’, while preserving the iconic heritage of the Central Vista, Mishra said.
In the new Parliament building, the Lok Sabha capacity will be up to 876 seats, Rajya Sabha 400 seats and joint session (in the Lok Sabha Hall) — up to 1,224 seats which will be sufficient to accommodate an expanded Parliament, post reconstitution in 2026.