Work on transit lounge, plantation drive in full swing ahead of Lok Sabha session

Apart from the landscaping and construction of new pavements, work was underway at the transit lounge where the MPs would wait after disembarking their vehicles before being taken to the main building in battery-operated golf carts. The landscaping work is likely to continue for another four to five days, sources said.

The first two days of the session, which will continue until July 3, have been set aside for oath-taking of the newly-elected members.

Thousands of saplings, including that of bamboo, red bottlebrush, champa, night-flowering jasmine and rudraksha, have been planted, sources said. With Delhi reeling under a heatwave, extra care has been taken to ensure that the saplings survive, they said.

Speaking to reporters Sunday, Speaker of 17th Lok Sabha Om Birla said efforts were being made to ensure the campus is “eco-friendly”, with additional greenery being planted. There was a plan to allow vehicles till a designated spot, after which golf carts would ferry the passengers, he said. Even before the session, the golf carts, with drivers wearing uniforms at the wheels, were seen parked outside Parliament, from where visitors were being taken into the complex from a newly-opened reception building this week.

Since its inauguration in May last year, construction activities have continued in and around the new Parliament building. After a security breach in the Lok Sabha on December 13, 2023, the CISF was handed over the security responsibility. Additional security measures are being incorporated, sources said.

Just a day before the security breach when intruders jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the gallery, the CPWD had floated a tender for additional security equipment for the new Parliament.