As the nation prepares for the inauguration of the New Parliament Building, here are some interesting facts about it.

1. There won’t be a Central Hall in the new Parliament House. The old Parliament House currently has a central hall that can hold 436 people. The joint meeting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha has been held in this central hall till now.  However, due to a lack of space, approximately 200 chairs must be installed for the joint session in the Central Hall.

2. Additionally, the new Parliament building will be resistant to earthquakes. Delhi was in Zone 2 when the old Parliament House was constructed. But at present it falls in Zone 4. The new Parliament House has been strengthened to be able to withstand significant shocks in Zone 5.

3. The structure of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha will have different themes. The National Bird, the Peacock, will serve as the theme for the Lok Sabha and the National Flower, the Lotus, for the Rajya Sabha.

4. As an eco-friendly building, the new Parliament Building will use green building materials. Electricity will be saved by 30% through the installation of devices. Solar power generation and rainwater harvesting will also be planned. Seats in houses will be more comfortable than they were before. Tata Projects Limited will develop the new Parliament expanding on a complete area of 64,500 sqm. HCP Design Planning and Management Private Limited created the building’s design.

5. The new Lok Sabha will be able to accommodate 888 MPs at the new Parliament House. There are only 552 MPs who can sit in the current Lok Sabha. As a result, there won’t be any issues in the years to come when the number of MPs grows.

6. Additionally, the new Parliament housing Rajya Sabha will be larger than before. The current Rajya Sabha has a complete strength of 245 seats. The new Rajya Sabha will have a provision for 384 seats. Therefore, regardless of whether the number of Rajya Sabha MPs go up in the future, there will be no lack of room in the house.

7. It will be the first ever Parliament building constructed after independence. There will be a multimedia display in front of each MP’s seat in the house.

8. The new Parliament House will have significantly more committee rooms. Modern general media frameworks will be accessible in each advisory group room. This will work with the working of parliamentary boards of trustees.

9. Special media facilities will also be available at the new Parliament House. Five hundred and thirty seats will be arranged for the media. The public will be able to observe parliamentary business in galleries in both houses. There will be a clear view of the house from each seat.

10. Arrangements are being made to make the new Parliament House a public parliament house. Disabled, elderly, and children will be able to enter easily. There will be two special entrance points for the general population to arrive at the Public Gallery and Central Constitutional Gallery. The new building will have better fire security arrangements, which the old one lacked.