Before the budget session starting from 31 January, pictures of the hall of the new Parliament House have come to the fore. It has been shared by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), which is building the new parliamentary building. These pictures are available on the website of the ministry – centralvista.gov.in. The deadline to complete the project was November 2022, but officials say it will be ready by the end of January.

In such a situation, it is expected that President Draupadi Murmu will address the joint session on January 31, 2023 from the new Lok Sabha building. After this, on February 1, 2023, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the budget from the new Lok Sabha. However, the government is yet to announce whether the budget session will begin in the new building or the second half of the session will be held in it.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman may present the budget from the new Lok Sabha on February 1.

CPWD issued tenders
To prepare the new Parliament, the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has issued tenders this week. This includes a tender of Rs 24.65 crore for mechanized housekeeping. The new building project was given to Tata in 2020 for Rs 861.9 crore. However, some reports say that its cost has increased to around Rs 1,200 crore.

Increase in cost due to increase in GST
This cost has increased due to increase in GST on construction. GST was revised from 12% to 18% in the year 2022. The new Lok Sabha Chamber has 888 seats and has the capacity to accommodate even more MPs if the House grows in size with future delimitations. There are 384 seats in the Rajya Sabha chamber.

See the pictures of the new building…

The new Lok Sabha is three times bigger. It has 888 seats and is based on the theme of Peacock.

There are 384 seats in the Rajya Sabha chamber. The interior of the Upper House is on the theme of lotus.

State of Art Constitutional Hall has also been built. photo credit: centralvista.gov.in

The building houses ultra modern office space. It is equipped with the latest communication technology

The building has large committee rooms equipped with the latest audio-video systems.

The blueprint of the old and new parliament has been given on the website of Central Vista.

Design of the new Parliament building. The new building looks like this