On 27 December, Lok Sabha Speaker Sabha Sumitra Mahajan proposed a new building for Parliament to the Urban Development Ministry.
On account of ageing of the Parliament House building and expansion in activities, staff etc, the building has shown signs of distress and over-utilisation...Under the circumstances, there is an imperative need for the construction of a new state-of-art Parliament building.
Sumitra Mahajan’s proposal
According to a report by Livemint, this is not the first time that such a proposal has been made. Mira Kumar, former Speaker of the Lok Sabha, had welcomed a committee to suggest an alternative building.
As the existing Parliament building is categorised as Heritage Grade-1, changes in the structure of the building are bound by limits, according to Mahajan’s letter to the ministry.
Moreover, the number of members of the Lok Sabha are expected to increase in the next 10 years.