Staff Reporter / New Delhi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated the newly constructed 36 Duplex Flats for MPs at North Avenue in the capital. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla; Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi; Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh; Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Housing & Urban Affairs and Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri; Chairperson, House Committee (Lok Sabha) C.R. Patil; Chairman, House Committee (Rajya Sabha) Om Prakash Mathur; several other Union Ministers, Members of Parliament and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
Inaugurating the Duplex Flats, Prime Minister Narendra Modi observed that the newly-elected Members of Lok Sabha usually face problem of accommodation and arrangements are made for their stay in hotels, etc. These Flats will now help in streamlining the accommodation requirements of the Members. Modi congratulated the agencies involved for completing the construction of this project within the stipulated time frame and budget, without compromising on the quality of the good facilities. Modi further said that it is being felt that the Parliament House building needs to be given a facelift in terms of modern facilities to showcase its grandeur or a new building may be constructed by the time the nation celebrates 75 years of Independence in the year 2022. Modi also complimented the Members, Leaders of Parties and Presiding Officers for the productive First Session of the Parliament.
Earlier speaking on the occasion, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla thanked the Prime Minister for inaugurating 36 Duplex Flats, the foundation stone of which was laid by the former Lok Sabha Speaker Smt. Sumitra Mahajan. Birla said that the project has been completed even before the scheduled time of two years and further informed that the flats are equipped with modern amenities and facilities, including LED lights, solar energy and rainwater harvesting, etc.
The existing MPs flats in North/South Avenue constructed way back in 1951-52 had become quite old and were prone to frequent repairs due to extreme stress, seepage and poor condition of sanitation pipelines. Further, these flats were not uniform, lacking in modern amenities/facilities and having high maintenance costs. Therefore, to overcome the shortage of accommodation for MPs, need of redevelopment of North/South Avenue was felt. With the concerted efforts of the House Committee, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs and CPWD, the first phase of the redevelopment project has been completed and these Type-VII flats will now be allotted to the Members of Parliament by the respective House Committees of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.