Government of India
The power of the Indian democratic system manifests in our Parliament, which weathered the Indian freedom struggle from colonial rule and witnessed many historical milestones. The existing building served as independent India’s first Parliament and witnessed the adoption of the Constitution of India. Thus, conserving and rejuvenating the rich heritage of the Parliament building is a matter of national importance. An icon of India’s democratic spirit, the Parliament building sits at the heart of the Central Vista. India’s present Parliament House is a colonial-era building designed by British architects Sir Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker, which took six years to construct (1921-1927). Originally called the Council House, the building housed the Imperial Legislative Council. The Parliament building witnessed the addition of two floors in 1956 to address the demand for more space. In 2006, the Parliament Museum was added to showcase the 2,500 years of rich democratic heritage of India. The building had to be modified to a large extent to suit the purpose of a modern Parliament.
After initial deliberations about the shape of the building, a circular shape was finalised by both the architects, Herbert Baker and Sir Edwin Lutyens as that would give the feel of a colosseum design for the Council House. It is popularly believed that the unique circular shape of the Chausath Yogini temple in Morena, (Madhya Pradesh) had inspired the design of the Council House, though there are no historical proofs for this.
At the height of construction, about 2,500 stonecutters and masons were employed just to shape the stones and marbles. The use of modern mechanical devices, including massive cranes, coupled with an inexhaustible supply of labour, gave the work unprecedented momentum.
The work of the construction of Council House had picked up momentum after the foundation was laid. The combined efforts of the engineers and the workers helped to maintain the pace of work.
A view of the North and South Block buildings taken from the Government House. The construction work for North and South Block buildings was much further along, by the time the construction for the Council House began.
A view of the Council House as seen from the North Block. Construction was far more advanced than the abundance of building material lying around would indicate. Behind can be seen the beginnings of a new metropolis.
The erstwhile media coverage of the Council House in 1927 just after a week of its formal inauguration. This became the building that influenced the political decisions of that era.
The Parliament House has served as the ‘The Temple of National Discussions’ in the world’s largest democracy. The two houses of the Parliament have been the pillars that have supported the socioeconomic growth of the country since independence.
Hon'ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the new Parliament Building on 10th December 2020 in New Delhi at an event that was attended by leaders from various political parties, Cabinet Ministers and Ambassadors of different countries. Prime Minister also performed the ground-breaking ceremony for the building, which is expected to be completed by October 2022 to seat the winter session of the Parliament. The new Parliament will have an area of 64,500 square metres.
The Parliament House building construction was started in 1921 and commissioned in 1927. It is almost 100 years old and a Heritage Grade-I building. Over the years, the parliamentary activities and the number of people working therein and visitors have increased manifold. There is no record or document of the original design of the building. Therefore, the new constructions and modifications have been done in an ad-hoc manner. For example, two new storeys constructed in 1956 over the outer circular part of the building hid the dome of the Central Hall and changed the facade of the original building. Further, the coverings of Jaali windows have reduced the natural light in the halls of two houses of the Parliament. Therefore, it is showing signs of distress and over-utilization and is not able to meet the current requirements in terms of space, amenities and technology.
The present building was never designed to accommodate a bicameral legislature for a full-fledged democracy. The number of Lok Sabha seats has remained unaltered at 545 based on the delimitation carried out on the basis of 1971 Census. It is likely to increase substantially after 2026 as the freeze on total number of seats is only till 2026. The seating arrangements are cramped and cumbersome, with no desks beyond the second row. The Central Hall has seating capacity only for 440 persons. When the Joint Sessions are held, the problem of limited seats amplifies. Due to limited space for movement, it is also a huge security risk.
Over the period addition in services like water supply lines, sewer lines, air conditioning, fire-fighting, CCTV, Audio Video system, which were not originally planned, have led to seepages and destroyed the overall aesthetics of the building. The fire safety is a major concern as the building is not designed according to the present fire norms. Numerous new electric cables have been put up which are potential fire hazard.
In the present Parliament House, the communications infrastructure and technology is antiquated. The acoustics of all the halls need major improvement.
There are structural safety concerns of the building. The current Parliament building was built when Delhi was in Seismic Zone-II, currently it is in Seismic Zone-IV.
With increasing demand for workspaces, inner service corridors were converted into offices which resulted in poor quality and narrow workspaces.
To accommodate ever increasing space requirements, sub-partitions were created within existing workspaces, leading to crammed offices.
The New Parliament Building reflecting aspirations of 135 crore Indians is being built alongside the existing Parliament Building.
The New Parliament Building will have a built-up area of about 65,000 sq. mt. Its triangular shape ensures optimum space utilization.
The New Parliament Building and the existing Parliament Building to work together as an ensemble. This will facilitate smooth and efficient functioning of operations of the Parliament.
The Lok Sabha will be three times bigger with 888 seats, with ease of sitting for MPs. It is based on Peacock theme, the National Bird.
A larger Rajya Sabha Hall will have a capacity of up to 384 seats. It is based on Lotus theme, the National Flower.
The Constitutional hall symbolically and physically puts the Indian citizens at the heart of our democracy.
The building will have offices that are designed to be secure, efficient and are equipped with the latest communications technology.
The new building will have large Committee rooms, equipped with the latest audio-visual systems. It will house functional, purpose-designed spaces to facilitate and deliver higher efficiency.
Our new Sansad Bhavan will contribute towards economic revitalisation across the entire construction value chain and generate employment opportunities for skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers.
The New Parliament Building Library will efficiently serve the members for gathering information from archived material.
A Platinum-rated Green Building, our new Sansad Bhavan will be a symbol of India’s commitment towards environmental sustainability.
The new Parliament Building will reflect the vibrance and diversity of modern India, incorporating our cultural and regional arts and crafts.
The New Parliament Building will be Divyang Friendly (accessible for people with disabilities). People with disabilities will be able to move around freely and independently.
The Central Lounge is being created to complement the open courtyard. It is intended to be a place for members to interact. The courtyard will have the national tree, the Banyan tree.
The New Parliament Building and the restored one will be jointly used to house all the facilities that are today located in the existing Parliament Building.
Presently, the chambers lack adequate space.
The aim is to restore the chambers and the building as a whole to bring back its original grandeur and architectural beauty.