Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the newly constructed 36 duplex flats for MPs at North Avenue on Monday evening.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla; Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi; Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh; Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Housing and Urban Affairs and Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri; Chairperson, House Committee (Lok Sabha) C.R. Patil; Chairman, House Committee (Rajya Sabha) Om Prakash Mathur; several other Union Ministers, Members of Parliament and other dignitaries also graced the occasion, read a statement.
Inaugurating the duplex flats, Prime Minister Modi observed that the newly-elected Members of Lok Sabha usually face problem of accommodation and arrangements are made for their stay in hotels, etc. These flats will now help in streamlining the accommodation requirements of the Members.
The Prime Minister congratulated the agencies involved for completing the construction of this project within the stipulated time frame and budget, without compromising on the quality of the good facilities. He further said that it is being felt that the Parliament House building needs to be given a facelift in terms of modern facilities to showcase its grandeur or a new building may be constructed by the time the nation celebrates 75 years of Independence in the year 2022.
Prime Minister Modi also complimented the Members, Leaders of Parties and Presiding Officers for the productive first session of the Parliament.
Earlier speaking on the occasion, Om Birla thanked the Prime Minister for inaugurating 36 duplex flats, the foundation stone of which was laid by the former Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
Birla said that the project has been completed even before the scheduled time and further informed that the flats are equipped with modern amenities and facilities, including LED lights, solar energy and rainwater harvesting, etc. The existing MPs flats in North/South Avenue constructed way back in 1951-52 had become quite old and were prone to frequent repairs due to extreme stress, seepage and poor condition of station pipelines, the statement read.
Further, these flats were not uniform, lacking in modern amenities/facilities and having high maintenance costs. Therefore, to overcome the shortage of accommodation for MPs, need of redevelopment of North/South Avenue was felt. With the concerted efforts of the House Committee, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and CPWD, the first phase of the redevelopment project has been completed and these Type-VII flats will now be allotted to the Members of Parliament by the respective House Committees of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, the statement added.
( With inputs from ANI )