Even before the much-hyped plan to construct a new Parliament building could be firmed up,the move received a quiet burial on Thursday. With senior parliamentarians,including BJP leader L K Advani,Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and Congress leader Karan Singh questioning the purported plan at the meeting of the Heritage Committee of Parliament,the plan now seems to have been junked. Raising the issue of a new Parliament building being mooted in light of the fact that the Parliament building is a fire-safety hazard and unsafe,Advani is learnt to have observed that the building was constructed for a specific purpose and shifting to a new location would defeat the same. He is learnt to have suggested that a master plan should be prepared for the building to ensure that the objections of Fire Department are taken care of. Incidentally,after reports talked of the proposal to construct a new Parliament building,the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) quickly entered the picture,offering some available plots for construction of a new Parliament House. The Indian Express had on July 31 first reported that a large section of MPs,including those from the ruling Congress and the BJP,were opposed to any move to shift Parliament to a new location. Reports had also said that Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar had decided to set up a high-powered committee to suggest an alternative complex for the two Houses. At Thursdays meeting of the Heritage Committee,in which Meira Kumar was also present,Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said that instead of planning for a new building,the focus should be on shifting out non-core offices out of the Parliament building. He is learnt to have said that all encroachments that have turned the Parliament in a tinder box should be immediately removed and a long-term plan be finalised to ensure proper preservation of the building. Union Development Minister Kamal Nath,who is also member of the committee,also supported Bansals stand.
