Winter Session of Parliament Next Year to Take Place in the New Parliament Building: Govt

New Delhi: The Government of India on Friday said that there was no 'either-or' choice between the projects and the budget for COVID management, asserting that the winter session of Parliament in December next year will take place in the new Parliament building and the Republic Day parade next year will be held at the refashioned Central Vista avenue on the 75th anniversary of Independence

Sources said that the parties, mainly Congress, were spreading false propaganda about Central Vista of which the under-construction projects were small parts, being developed at a cost of barely Rs 1,300 crore.

"MLAs bungalows in Mumbai are being constructed for Rs 900 crore whereas the new Parliament building and the Central Vista avenue together will cost Rs 1,300 crore," an official said.

The official said that tenders for the two projects were awarded in pre-COVID times. The remaining projects under Central Vista redevelopment will be taken up later as the entire project has to be completed over an extended period.

According to the reports, over 400 workers were deployed at the two project sites where COVID-19 protocol is being complied with strictly.

A senior functionary said that the opposition was demanding to stop the Central Vista project, which in reality had not even started. The official said that Congress's criticism was premised on the party's think-tank AICC Research Department, which had made hypothetical observations about the project.

"The actual cost of the project would be clear only after tenders were awarded but initial assessment was that the whole Central Vista, comprising 13 buildings including a centralised secretariat, bungalows for the prime minister and the vice president, would cost approximately Rs 17,000 crore," the source added.

It is to be mentioned that the project, which is estimated to be completed by 2026, is being executed by the housing and urban affairs ministry. Several opposition parties recently wrote a letter to PM Narendra Modi asking him to start free vaccination for all and stop the Central Vista project.

However, Hardeep Singh Puri, Urban Development Minister, has defended the project. "Congress's discourse on Central Vista is bizarre. Cost of Central Vista is about Rs 20,000 crore, over several years. GoI has allocated nearly twice that amount for vaccination. India's healthcare budget for just this year was over Rs 3 lakh crore. We know our priorities," he said.

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