New Parliament House plans shelved

NEW DELHI: Parliament House, witness to history for the past 85 years, will continue to be the home to the two houses of Parliament, with moves to have a new building elsewhere being dropped now.

Conscious of the rich history and heritage of the Parliament House before and after Independence, leaders across the political spectrum have opposed the moves for a new Parliament House that led to their being nipped in the bud.

There is no official word about the shelving of plans, but nobody is talking anymore about having an alternate site to house Parliament that has shown wear and tear and needs repair.

Not only politicians and Parliamentarians, but conservationists too are opposed to the idea of shifting Parliament House, calling it "absolutely nonsense".

They are of the view that conservationists should be roped in to strengthen the structure, which has a "rich history" attached to it.

It all started with Lok Sabha Secretary General T K Viswanathan talking about constitution of a high-powered committee to suggest an alternative complex because of apprehensions over the structural stability of the building constructed in 1927.

The apprehensions arose in the wake of a devastating fire in Mantralaya, the seat of Maharashtra Government, in Mumbai.