New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government is now rethinking its plans to construct new office spaces for Members of Parliament (MPs) near the new Parliament building, almost a year after inviting pre-qualification bids for the Rs 1,210 crore project, ‘The Print’ has learnt.
The ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA) — the nodal ministry for implementing the Central Vista redevelopment and other associated projects in the heart of the national capital — is reviewing the plan for the MP Chambers project that was originally meant to come up on the plot where Transport Bhawan and Shram Shakti Bhawan are located.
While Transport Bhawan houses the road transport and highways, shipping and tourism ministries, Shram Shakti Bhawan houses the Jal Shakti, labour, skills and power ministries.
With the completion of the new Parliament building, which Modi inaugurated in May, the plan was to start construction of MP Chambers this year. “The plan was to construct the building to provide office space for Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs, as MPs don’t have any office in the Parliament House building (old one). Even the new building doesn’t have dedicated rooms for MPs,” said a senior MoHUA ministry official told ‘The Print’.
In January, the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) — the construction arm of the ministry and nodal agency for construction of the Central Vista Redevelopment Project — had invited pre-qualification bids for the construction of MP Chambers, but no decision has been taken as yet, according to two senior MoHUA officials, who did not want to be named.
A senior ministry official said, “There is a rethink on the plan for MP Chambers. We are looking at all aspects, including its location. Discussions are going on about looking for alternate plots and details of the project. No decision in this regard has been taken as yet.”
According to the pre-qualification bid document, the plan was to construct an eight-storeyed building (ground plus eight floors and a basement) at a cost of Rs 1,210 crore. The project was to be completed within 30 months from the date of award of work. “The proposed/subject work will be designed to improve potency and functioning through carefully planned formation of all MP offices with supporting facilities,” the bid document stated.
‘The Print’ has sought an official comment from the Union housing and urban affairs ministry spokesperson via WhatsApp and will update the copy as and when it is received.
For the construction of MP Chambers, the ministry had prepared a plan to shift the offices of various ministries such as road transport and highways, ports, shipping and waterways, labour and employment, and power etc. to other government buildings, including the newly constructed office spaces at Kasturba Gandhi Marg in central Delhi.
A senior ministry official said, “The plan to shift transport and other ministries operating from Transport Bhawan and Shram Shakti Bhawan has been put on hold for some time now.”
This is not the first time the ministry and CPWD are reviewing the MP Chambers plan. In December last year, the CPWD had invited pre-qualification bids for the project for the first time. But within weeks, a modified tender inviting bids was put up by the CPWD in which the cost of the project was slashed to Rs 1,210 crore from Rs 1,435 crore, as the total area of the building was reduced to 98,000 sq mts from 1.18 lakh sq mts.
According to the bid document issued last December, the plan was to construct three blocks with a utility block. While two blocks were to have 10 floors (ground plus 10 with three basements) each, one block was proposed to be a two-storeyed building (ground plus two with one basement). The utility block was proposed to be a separate building with just a ground floor.
But in January, the CPWD completely revised the plan and reduced the number of buildings from three to just one. The bid document issued in January this year said the MP Chambers would be an eight-storey building (ground plus eight floors) with just one basement.
Asked about the change in plan and the delay in finalising it, a senior housing ministry official said, “There is no delay in finalising it. The plan to construct new office spaces for government officials (Central Vista Redevelopment Plan) and the MPs is a big project. It is an evolving plan; we have to make changes to incorporate all the requirements.”
(Courtesy: The Print -Story by Risha Chitlangia)
