LS Speaker directs renovation of Parliament building

The 92-year-old Parliament House building is to be renovated and the upkeep of the complex is to be upgraded to the highest standards.

Directions to this effect were issued by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday after he conducted an inspection of the building, which houses the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha and offices of Ministers and administrative staff of Parliament.

He stressed that the level of cleanliness and upkeep of the complex should be of highest standards. 

During the inspection, he made several observations on the upkeep of specific parts of the building.

Birla, who assumed charge of the Speaker on June 19, directed the authorities responsible for civil, electrical and other works to gear up, in mission mode, to bring about a "positive transformation" in the maintenance of the complex.

He said the agencies concerned should ensure that the changes and the new look harmonizes and blends with aesthetical set-up of Parliament, according to a statement issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

Later, the Speaker, who is the custodian of the Parliament House complex, chaired a meeting of the senior officers of the Lok Sabha Secretariat and the CPWD and directed that nodal officers be appointed for different buildings of the Parliament complex.

The nodal officers will prepare plans for renovation of the buildings, Birla said. 

He directed that senior authorities of CPWD should also be invited to seek their views and to study the feasibility of arranging adequate funds for maintenance and renovation, the statement said.

Birla said the work relating to the lighting in the exterior of Parliament complex should be in sync with international standards.

For this, a detailed plan for overall review of lighting arrangements in the complex may be prepared on top priority, he instructed. 

The Parliament House complex, which is circular in shape, was designed by British architects Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker and it was constructed in 1927.IANS