Broadcast infrastructure work pending, new Parliament building unlikely to be ready for winter session

The new Parliament building that is under construction – as part of the Central Vista redevelopment project – is unlikely to be ready in time to host the winter session in December, ThePrint has learned.

Modi government did ambitious plan november The deadline for the completion of the project, which coincided with the 75th year of India’s independence. It also planned to hold a winter session inside the new parliament to mark the occasion.

Senior government officials associated with the project said that while more than 75 per cent of the civil work has been completed, the delay has been due to the placing of the broadcasting infrastructure inside the new parliament.

Officials are now focusing on building a control room from where state-of-the-art broadcast equipment will be operated.

“While round-the-clock work is going on at the project site, there have been delays in laying the optic fiber cabling for internet, power and video transmission,” a senior official said.

“Cables cannot be laid just like that. Before this, the control room from where the state-of-the-art broadcast equipment will be operated is to be built. The control room work is likely to be completed by November, after which the cable will be laid. This will be followed by system integration, testing and commissioning. It will take time,” said the official.

A second government official said there has also been some delay in the procurement of broadcasting infrastructure, which has to be imported. “The war in Ukraine affected the supply chain, resulting in delays. But now the tender has been awarded to import broadcasting equipment,” said the official.

Officials of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs admitted that the construction of a project of this scale in two years is an uphill task. Work on the new complex began in January 2021.

“A project of this scale takes at least four to five years. The building space is 65,000 square meters. But we have done an extraordinary job. More than 75% of the construction has been completed. We are trying our best to complete the project within the time limit, but there may be some delay,” said a housing ministry official.

The official said that the work on the Parliament building also started late. “There was a court case going on, which initially delayed the project. the pandemic again [second wave in April-May 2021] Which disrupted the work,” the official said. Bharat Times