New Delhi: A large space spread over two floors for the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), a separate office for the Special Protection Group (SPG) and rooms for all Union ministers is being prepared in the new Parliament House inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May. Is. According to officials having knowledge of the matter, 28.
The officials, who asked not to be named, said only essential parliamentary departments such as the Table Office, which handles the daily agenda and all documents of the House, the Legislative Branch, which deals with all Bills in the House, the Notices Office, where members and ministers submit their notices to the agenda, and the Parliamentary Reporters Branch, which is responsible for verbatim reporting of proceedings, will move to the new building. “The bulk of the existing workforce will continue to work from their existing offices in Old Building, Library Building and upper floors of Parliament House,” said one of the officials.
The monsoon session, usually held in July, is likely to take place in the new parliament, and officials expect most of the ongoing work to be completed by then.
Officials said shifting the necessary parliamentary machinery to the new building may take some time as the construction work is yet to be completed. Final touches are being given in many areas. The outer perimeter wall is being constructed and office rooms in the upper floors are still being prepared,” said a second official.
A third official said office rooms in the new building have already been allotted to departments and officials “but we are not going there anytime soon as the new offices are not fully ready”.
In the existing building, completed in 1927, the Prime Minister’s Office consists of only two rooms on the ground floor. The SPG functions from a small room in the basement. “There is an urgent need for a bigger space for the PMO in the new building. In the old building, top-ranking PMO officials are allotted only a table and a chair,” said a senior parliamentary official on condition of anonymity.
Only cabinet ministers numbering 30 and some ministers of state were allotted independent offices in the old building. “All the ministers (77) will have their own office in the new building,” officials said. The Central Vista redevelopment plan also includes offices for all MPs in a new building that will replace the Shram Shakti Bhawan near the Parliament complex, though work is yet to begin.
Another official said that after the parliamentary departments are shifted to the new building, seats will be allotted to the offices of political parties and MPs on priority basis. “At present the offices of around 19 parties are in the old building. All these will be given offices in the new building. The seats or division numbers of many MPs will also be changed as per the new seating arrangement.
Officials said that work is still underway, so there is no deadline for moving the offices to the new parliament. “Most of the parliamentary officials are still not allowed into the new building due to the ongoing works. But we hope that the complex will be ready for us by the end of June. Before we leave, setting up the network and IT systems in the new offices is a big job. Some offices, which currently occupy premium space on the ground floor, may be shifted to the basement in the new building,” said a fourth official.
In the present Parliament House, there is a provision of seating for 543 members in the Lok Sabha and 250 in the Rajya Sabha. “Keeping in mind the future requirements, the newly constructed building of Parliament has been designed to accommodate 888 members of the Lok Sabha and 384 members of the Rajya Sabha,” a release said. “The joint session of both the Houses will be held in the Lok Sabha Chamber, which can seat a total of 1,280 MPs.”
The additional seating capacity takes into account the possible delimitation exercise after 2026. The current size of the Lok Sabha, fixed at 545, is based on the 1971 census. With the cap on the current size expiring in 2026, the number of seats may increase as per the first census after 2026 depending on the population boom.
