The Parliament House (IAST: Sansad Bhavan) in New Delhi is the seat of the Parliament of India. It houses the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, which are lower and upper houses respectively in India's bicameral parliament.
As part of India's Central Vista Redevelopment Project, a new parliament building was constructed in New Delhi. It was inaugurated on 28 May 2023 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It is located on Rafi Marg, which crosses the Central Vista and is surrounded by the Old Parliament House, Vijay Chowk, India Gate, National War Memorial, Vice President's House, Hyderabad House, Secretariat Building, Prime Minister's Office and residence, ministerial buildings and other administrative units of the Indian government.
The New Parliament House was first used for official business on 19 September 2023 during the Parliament Special Session, with the name designation Parliament of India.
Background
Proposals for a new parliament building to replace the existing complex emerged in the early 2010s due to stability concerns with the older structure. A committee to suggest several alternatives to the current building was set up by the then-Speaker Meira Kumar in 2012. The original building, a 93-year-old structure, suffered from inadequate space for house members and their staff and design changes that put its structural stability at risk as it wasn't earthquake-proof. Despite this, the building is important to India's national heritage, and plans are in place to protect the structure.
Commencement
In 2019, the Indian government launched the Central Vista Redevelopment Project, which included the construction of a new parliament building along with other projects in New Delhi, including revamping Kartavya Path, construction of a new residence for the vice president, a new office and residence for the prime minister and combining all ministerial buildings in a single central secretariat.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the construction was held in October 2020, and the foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on 10 December 2020. The ceremony included an interfaith prayer service performed by religious leaders.
Although the laying of the foundation stone was allowed, a bench led by Justice A. M. Khanwilkar of the Supreme Court of India put a hold on the Central Vista Redevelopment Project until the resolution of pleas received against the project in the court. The project was cleared in a majority judgment of the Supreme Court in January 2021, with riders for environmental concerns, and work on the building was begun.
Description
The old parliament architecture built in 1927 was designed by the British architects Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker; and it was largely influenced by Hindu Chausath Yogini Temple, Mitaoli.
The new complex has a hexagonal shape and it is built next to the existing complex and is almost equal in size to the former one.
The design of this Parliament building resembles the Vijaya Temple of Vidisha.
The building is designed to have a lifespan of more than 150 years. It is designed to be earthquake resistant while incorporating architectural styles from different parts of India. The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha chambers have large seating capacities to accommodate more members in the future, resulting from India's growing population and consequent future delimitation exercises.
The new complex has 888 seats in the Lok Sabha chamber and 384 seats in the Rajya Sabha chamber. Unlike the old parliament building, it does not have a central hall. The Lok Sabha chamber able to house 1,272 members in case of a joint session. The rest of the building has four floors with offices for ministers and committee rooms.
The building has a built area of (including its open-sky area of for a banyan tree), which makes it 10% smaller in size than the existing old circular building of (diameter ) including its open sky area of , split into three sectors.
The Parliament House has three entrances, named Gyan Dwar (knowledge gate), Shakti Dwar (power gate), and Karma Dwar (karma gate). There are six guardian statues that man the three entrances, namely, Gaja, Ashwa, Garuda, Makar, Shardula, and Hams.