Right move to preserve Parliament’s heritage
By The New Indian Express
11th August 2012 12:35 AM
Even before the much-hyped plan to construct a new Parliament building could be firmed up, the Heritage Committee of Parliament on Thursday decided to give it a quiet burial. Instead of shifting operations to another site, the committee has instructed the central public works department to engage consultants to prepare a master plan that would ensure that the ‘core activities’ of Parliament are carried out in the 85-year-old building, constructed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker to house India’s federal legislature. The decision is significant as it came in the first meeting of the committee after the talk began of a possible new parliament house complex.
Suggestions for a new building began doing the rounds after a safety audit of the Parliament House following a recent fire in the state government headquarters in Mumbai found many shortcomings in the building for which a no-objection certification had not been issued for 60 years. Some experts also doubted its capacity to withstand a major earthquake. Lok Sabha secretary general T K Vishwanathan also told the media that with the number of MPs expected to go up after 2025, the current premises would be inadequate. Acting with sagacity, the committee rightly decided that these problems could be addressed by strengthening and decongesting the existing complex and Parliament must continue to function in the building.
Additions, alterations, modifications, and periodic repairs are natural in any old structure. The Capitol and White House buildings in the United States are almost 200 years old but have got by very well with timely maintenance and repairs. Advances in engineering and technology could be effectively used for the preservation, protection and conservation of Parliament House. Considering its height and circular design, the effect of an earthquake in the vicinity of Delhi or a large magnitude earthquake in Northwest Himalayan region would be nil or minimum. The earthquake bogey cannot be raised to justify any plans to build a new house for Parliament and the committee has done well to reject the proposal.
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Comments(3)
Good that they decided to strenghten the old parliament building rather than build another monumental one. Also, it is necessary to view after due deliberations, whether to continue the scores of bungalow plots in Lutyens Delhi where minsiters and senior civikl servnats stay. The other side of Delhi, look at the slums proliferating in the banks ogf Yamuna. Do qwe, in the name of heritage, continue the opulent living of the gated community in LUtyens Bun galow or whether to demoliosh them and hbuild equally beaitiful middle class and lower middle class and worming class aprtmetns to suiit the teeeming millions of Delhi and the adjoining areas. It will not be doing any godo for the ntion if in the name of heritage we keep these gated communtieis of minsiters and vciivl servnats. ZLet them live in bigger apartment houses. An issue that needs wider public debate.
Posted by s suibramanyan at 08/11/2012 08:40 Reply to this Report abuse
Indian Parliament is located at the most impressive location, with a majestic structure we can all be proud of. The idea to expand, if any should be to duplicate this circular, beautiful at vacant space nearer o it. Please recall how at Chennai, a duplicate to Iron bridge, expansion of Central Rly. Station, Police IG office etc were done without sacrificing the heritage values. similarly at Bangalore the elegant Vidhana Saudha has a duplicate nearer to it to house extra Govt. departments. Indians generally remember places through identification of such historic structures. Good decision and if at all extra space is needed at later date, just go for a duplicate!
Posted by KANNAN at 08/11/2012 09:58 Reply to this Report abuse
When we cannot compromise on the security of our M.Ps in view of speculation over the impending earth quake near the Parliament, general prudence mandates an opinion from expert metrologists. If the said report, could forecast the worst, we have no alternative except to take shelter under a new structure. The Heritage Committe has a boundant duty to table the cards for all to know, for the simple reason that crores of shelterless Indians live under the sky braving extreme heat and cold. The ruling dispensation is answerable to commoners who are destined to conquer poverty with a purse of Rs.33 a day in a metro and Rs.27 in a village, courtesy the wisdom of our planning commission.
Posted by C.Chandrasekaran(Madurai) at 08/11/2012 12:17 Reply to this Report abuse