New parliament building: Here’s a timeline, costs incurred and more

All eyes are on Delhi, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to inaugurate the new parliament building on Sunday. As the old parliament house, which is more than 90 years old, is set to get replaced with a larger and newer one, we looked at the money that went into its construction, the space and other features.

The historically important old parliament building, experienced a space crunch, especially when joint sessions were held. While there are 793 members of the parliament, in both houses combined, the central hall, where the joint sessions happened could only accommodate 436 people in total.

The new parliament will not have a central hall, but it is designed in such a way that the Lok Sabha can accommodate up to 1,272 people. That is where the joint sessions will occur.

The upcoming monsoon session of the parliament is likely to take place in the new parliament.

The building was completed at a cost of ₹836 crore and has an area of 64,500 square metres.

While there were bids in the past, since 2012, to construct a new parliament building, the foundation stone for the project was laid only in December 2020.

Also read: Govt to issue special commemorative coin of ₹75 to mark the inauguration of new Parliament building