Construction begins of new Parl building

New Delhi, Jan. 15: The construction work of the new Parliament building started on Friday, over a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the project under the government’s ambitious Central Vista redevelopment plan.

The new Parliament building will have a triangular shape and is expected to be completed by the 75th anniversary of India's independence in 2022. The government plans to hold the monsoon session of Parliament in 2022 in the new building.

“The construction work of the Parliament building has started,” an official said.

PM Modi had laid the foundation stone for the new Parliament building, which is being constructed by Tata Projects Ltd, on December 10 last year. The project is estimated to cost `971 crore.

Earlier this week, a 14member heritage panel gave its approval to the new Parliament building while also giving the goahead to the Central Vista redevelopment project.

The Supreme Court had asked the Centre to seek prior approval from the panel and other relevant authorities before starting the construction of the new building.

The construction work could not start earlier as the government had assured the Supreme Court that no construction or demolition work would commence till the apex court decided the pending pleas on the issue.

The new structure will come up in front of the existing Parliament that was built nearly 94 years ago at a cost of `83 lakh at that time and would eventually be turned into a museum.