Construction of the new Parliament building is running 16 days behind schedule due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said on Friday.
He rejected Opposition criticism of the project, contending that not a single member had objected to the project when it was discussed at the General Purposes Committee or when it was announced in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha by the respective presiding officers.
Birla, speaking to reporters, said that he was confident about the new Parliament building being ready by October 2022, in time for the 75th anniversary of Independence.
“I have no comments to offer on what is being said outside of the precincts of Parliament, but inside nobody opposed the new Parliament building,” Birla said.
He said the government is building a new Parliament at the request of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha as the old building, which was a witness to many historic moments, had undergone several internal changes.
“Now, there is no scope for any further expansion,” the Speaker said, adding that the new, modern parliament building was a necessity.
Birla claimed that the Parliament Secretariat has saved more than Rs 400 crore over the past two years by exercising fiscal prudence. He said the amount saved was nearly half of the total cost of the new Parliament building.
The new Parliament building is being constructed at a cost of Rs 971 crore and the project has been awarded to the Tata Group.
The Speaker said work on the new Parliament building was progressing well and at one time was 27 days ahead of the planned schedule.
However, the work got affected due to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and was now 16 days behind schedule.
(Published 18 June 2021, 17:30 IST)
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