The new Parliament building, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 28, is undergoing preparations to accommodate a larger space for the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and individual offices for all central ministers.
This development aims to provide better facilities and resources for these important government entities. Officials expect the Monsoon session, typically scheduled for July, to take place in the new Parliament building once most of the ongoing work is completed.
To cater to the requirements of the PMO and ministers, a significant area spread across two floors is being allocated in the new Parliament building. Additionally, separate offices are being prepared for the Special Protection Group (SPG) and all central ministers.
This expansion is a step towards enhancing their working environment and ensuring efficiency in governance.
As the preparations continue, essential parliamentary departments such as the table office, legislation branch, notice office, and parliamentary reporters branch will be relocated to the new building.
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These departments handle crucial tasks such as managing the House’s daily agenda and documents, handling bills, accepting agenda submissions from members and ministers, and providing verbatim reporting of proceedings.
However, most of the current workforce will continue operating from their existing offices in the old building, library building, and the parliament annex.
The shifting process may take some time as construction-related work is still in progress. Final touches are being given to various areas, including the construction of the outer perimeter wall and the preparation of office rooms on the upper floors.
Although office rooms have been assigned to departments and officials, the complete readiness of these new offices is yet to be achieved.
The urgency for larger space for the PMO in the new building stems from the limited accommodation available in the existing structure. Currently, the PMO occupies only two rooms on the ground floor, while the SPG operates from a small room in the basement.
The new building aims to address this limitation by providing a more spacious and suitable environment for the PMO. Moreover, unlike the current scenario where only Cabinet ministers and a few ministers of state have independent offices, the new building will ensure that all ministers (totaling 77) are allocated their own dedicated offices.
The Central Vista redevelopment plan also includes provisions for offices for all Members of Parliament (MPs) in a new building that will replace the Shram Shakti Bhavan near the Parliament complex. However, the commencement of work on this particular aspect is yet to take place.
Once the essential parliamentary departments have transitioned to the new building, priority will be given to allocating offices for political parties and seats for MPs.
Currently, approximately 19 parties have their offices in the old building, and they will be provided with offices in the new building as well. The seating arrangements and division numbers for MPs will also be subject to changes based on the new seating arrangement.
While there is no specific timeline for the complete shifting of offices to the new Parliament building due to ongoing construction work, officials anticipate that most of the work will be finished by the end of June.
However, before the relocation, setting up the necessary network and IT systems in the new offices presents a significant task. It is possible that some offices currently occupying prime space on the ground floor may be shifted to the basement in the new building.
The new Parliament building has been designed to accommodate future requirements, considering the potential delimitation exercise after 2026. Currently, the Lok Sabha can accommodate 543 members, while the Rajya Sabha can accommodate 250 members.
In the newly constructed building, provisions have been made to accommodate a meeting of 888 members in the Lok Sabha and 384 members in the Rajya Sabha. This expanded seating capacity takes into account the possible increase in the number of seats based on the first census after 2026.
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