There will be a modified parking plan for the vehicles being used by the Members of Parliament (MPs) during the forthcoming Budget session of Parliament starting January 29.
The MPs will be informed through WhatsApp and telephonically about the parking arrangements and vehicular movement in and around the Parliament House complex well in advance, to ensure their smooth movement during the session which will conclude on April 8 with a recess in between from February 15 to March 8.
There will be a map detailing the modified parking arrangements which will be shared with all members, both from the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha.
The plan has been put in place for MPs due to the construction of the New Parliament building which will be equipped with all modern audio-visual communication facilities and data network systems, making it a symbol of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on December 10, 2020, laid the foundation stone of the new Parliament building, which will be one of the most magnificent buildings in the country built on an area of 64,500 square meters at an estimated cost of Rs 971 crore.
The building, which will have a seating capacity of 888 in the Lok Sabha chamber with an option to increase it to 1,224 members during joint sessions and a seating capacity for 384 members in the Rajya Sabha, is to be completed by 2022. It is proposed to hold the Winter session of Parliament in the new building when the nation celebrates 75 years of Independence.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla was on Saturday informed about the modified parking plan during his inspection visit ahead of the Budget session.
Soon after getting a detailed presentation on the modified parking plan, Birla directed the authorities to take care of the facilities for the MPs and instructed that the members should be informed on WhatsApp and telephonically about these parking arrangements to ease their movement in the Parliament House complex.
Birla said that the MPs should be given the details of the parking plan well in advance. The Speaker also directed that they be given the map on the modified parking arrangements.
Referring to the construction of the new Parliament building, Birla told the agencies concerned to strictly adhere to pollution control and green building norms, and ensure that the construction did not hamper the smooth functioning of parliamentary business during the session.
Birla asked them to install smog towers and necessary equipment for checking noise pollution.
The Budget session will commence with President Ram Nath Kovind’s address to a joint sitting of both the Houses of Parliament at 11 a.m. on January 29. The two Houses will meet separately for the tabling of the President’s Address. The Economic Survey would also be tabled in both Houses in the 30-minute sitting.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman would present the Union Budget at 11 a.m. on February 1.
The Rajya Sabha would sit from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the Lok Sabha from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Zero Hour and Question Hour would also be held. All Covid-19 protocols would be followed in this session on the same lines as the Monsoon session last year.
