PHOTOS: PM Modi visits new Parliament construction site at night, reviews progress

The Prime Minister spent almost 60 minutes at the site and inspected first-hand the construction status of the new parliament building, which will replace the existing Parliament that was built 94 years ago.

<p>Image: Prime Minister Modi at the construction site of the new Parliament building in New Delhi.</p>

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday night made an unscheduled visit to the Parliament construction site and reviewed the ongoing work.

The Prime Minister visited the new parliament building's construction site without prior intimation and security detail at around 8.45 pm. 

The Prime Minister spent almost 60 minutes at the site and inspected first-hand the construction status of the new parliament building, which will replace the existing Parliament that was built 94 years ago.

The Prime Minister wore a helmet as he went around the site and was even seen interacting with site workers.

The new Parliament building is part of the elaborate Central Vista redevelopment project. The project includes revamping the 3-km Rajpath from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate and building a common central secretariat, new Prime Minister's Residence and Prime Minister's Office, and a new Vice-President Enclave.

The construction of the new Parliament building, which will have a built-up area of approximately 60,000 square metres, is expected to be completed by October 2022. The new Parliament building is beimng built on plot number 118 of the Parliament House Estate, which earlier used to house the boundary walls and other temporary structures.

In the new Parliament building, the Lok Sabha will have seating capacity for 888 elected representatives, while Rajya Sabha will have 384 seats. Besides, the building will also have separate offices for all MPs.

The new Parliament building, which is being constructed by Tata Projects Ltd and is expected to cost over Rs 970 crore, will also be technologically equipped with biometrics for ease of voting,  programmable microphones. 

Prime Minister Modi has directed officials to ensure that those who are working at the construction site are fully-vaccinated against Covid-19. 

He also suggested that once the work is complete, a digital archive must be created which will comprise of personal details of all construction workers engaged at the site, their picture and should recognize their contribution to the construction work. 

The Prime Minister also asked officials to provide certificates to the construction workers, highlighting their role and participation in this endeavour.

Some media reports had also claimed that there would be at least three underground tunnels linking the new residences of the Vice President and Prime Minister to the new Parliament. The reason for adding the tunnels, according to reports, was to ensure less disruptive VVIP movements.