Parliament building faces safety and space issues: Centre

NEW DELHI: The Union government filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court on Tuesday saying the nearly 100-year-old Parliament building was showing signs of distress and faced many safety issues, including serious fire hazard, which necessitated construction of a modern building for the bicameral House under the Central Vista project, reports Dhananjay Mahapatra.
The Centre said construction of Parliament House was started in 1921 and completed in 1937. It is almost 100 years old. “Over the years, parliamentary activities have increased manifold. Therefore, it... is not able to meet the current requirements in terms of space, amenities and technology,” it said.
It said the Parliament building was designed to house the Imperial Legislative Council and not as a bicameral legislature — Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. “Two floors were added in 1956. Fire safety is a major concern as the building is not designed according to present fire norms,” the government said in response to petitions challenging the Central Vista project.