Central Vista Project : Government claims new Parliament will save Rs 1000 crore annually
New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid the foundation stone for the construction of a new Parliament building on 10 December. With the completion of Bhoomi Poojan by the Prime Minister, a new Parliament building costing Rs. 971 crore has been started under the ongoing project named Central Vista of 25 thousand crores. However, the Supreme Court has put a stay on its construction. Several petitions are pending in the Supreme Court to stop this construction work.
The opposition is also the attacker in the Central Vista case. It is alleged that due to lack of budget, the states have not received GST money. The health budget has been cut by 15 percent. Apart from this, many types of cuts have been made. Despite this, the government is building a ‘palace’ for itself.
The current parliament building is 100 years old
Solicitor General of the Government of India, Tushar Mehta, in favor of the construction of the A building, says that the existing Parliament building is 100 years old. It now has security issues. There is a lack of space. This building is also not earthquake proof. It also lacks fire safety safety standards. Its practical side has also been taken into consideration.
Due to this, many different expenses of about one thousand crore rupees will be stopped annually. However, despite the arguments of the parties and the opposition, the entire project has come under controversy. Its construction is now dependent on the decisions of the petitions filed in the Supreme Court.
Why is there a need for a new parliament?
In March 2020, the government told Parliament that the old building was over-utilization and deteriorating. Also, in 2026, the work of delimitation of Lok Sabha seats is scheduled. After this, the number of MPs in the House may increase. There is not enough space in the old building to accommodate the MPs.
Apart from this, Article-81 of the Constitution had a rule to limit the seats according to the existing population after every census, but this has not happened since 1971. The construction of the existing building in 2021 is about to complete 100 years.
