New Parliament building in Delhi likely to be ready by month-end

NEW DELHI: The new Parliament building is likely to be ready by the end of this month, paving the way for hosting the upcoming budget session. Decision is yet to be taken on whether one part or the entire session would be held in the new building, officials said.
Sources didn't rule out the possibility of at least the President's address to the joint sitting of both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in the new building before the 2023-24 Budget is presented by the finance minister. The new Lok Sabha will have the capacity to accommodate members of both the Houses during the joint sitting. TOI has learnt that senior functionaries from the ministry on Monday briefed the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) about the status of the work.
"The new Parliament building will be ready by the end of this month. The internal finishing work is going on at a very fast pace. The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretariats will conduct the necessary drills before the building becomes fully functional. Some minor works may continue, which won't affect the functioning of the new chambers," an official said.
The officials said that the original timeline was "too short" considering the scale and complexity of the project.
Sources said the launch of new Parliament building will be a big celebration since it has been built after Independence and would also be the end of another colonial symbol as the existing Parliament was designed and built by the British as the Council House. It originally housed the Imperial Legislative Council.
The project was initially targeted for completion in November last year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone of the project in December 2020 and the construction began in January 2021.
The triangular new building is being constructed by Tata Projects. Though the project was bid out at Rs 862 crore, the cost has now escalated to more than Rs 1,200 crore. In addition, the culture ministry is also providing funds for the artworks for the building. The oversight committee set up by the government has asked the housing and urban affairs ministry to sort out the issues relating to the additional cost of the project.