New Delhi: Opposition parties attacked the central government Thursday after water leaked into the new Parliament building following last evening’s heavy showers in Delhi.
Congress MP Manickam Tagore even submitted a notice for an adjournment motion to discuss the building’s “weather resilience”.
Other Congress leaders, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and Trinamool Congress’s Mahua Moitra questioned the seepage in the building built at a cost of around Rs 922 crore by the Tata Group, and designed by Gujarat-based HCP Designs of architect Bimal Patel.
Tagore, who is among the two whips of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, wrote to the secretary general of the House seeking time to discuss the issue, terming it a matter of urgent importance.
Tagore mentioned in his notice that Wednesday’s heavy rains caused “water leaks inside the Parliament lobby along the path used by our President of India when entering the new Parliament building. This incident highlights potential issues with the building’s weather resilience, just one year after its completion”.
He also proposed a special committee, including all party MPs, be formed for a thorough inspection of the building. “The committee will focus on the causes of the leaks, evaluate the design and materials, and recommend necessary repairs. Additionally, it should establish a maintenance protocol and ensure transparency by publicly sharing their findings. I urge all members to support this initiative to uphold the safety and integrity of our Parliament,” Tagore added.
The Central Public Works Department (CPWD), the Centre’s construction arm under the housing and urban affairs ministry, said Thursday that the water leakage in the new Parliament building was because of erosion of silicon from the glass joints and there was no structural stability issue.
“Heat of unprecedented summer followed by very intense rain eroded silicon from a glass joint on Lok Sabha lobby skylight creating a small issue. It was addressed immediately. Structural integrity, water proofing etc are in good condition,” the CPWD said in a post on X.
While the problem has been fixed, the ministry of housing and urban affairs has asked the CPWD to look for an alternative for silicon sealant or measures to avoid such incidents in the future. “There was no major problem. This was minor leakage at one location, which was addressed at the earliest. But we will have to look for measures or alternatives to silicon sealant to prevent such incidents in the future,” said a senior ministry official, who didn’t wish to be named.
The waterlogging in the parliament complex was due to overflowing drains, which are maintained by the New Delhi Municipal Council, in the nearby areas. NDMC vice-chairman Satish Upadhayay said, “Due to the heavy rainfall, it took time for the water to clear. But the main problem is the Barapullah drain. As it overflows, the water backflows in NDMC areas. There is a need for deep desilting of the Barapullah drain. In June, we wrote to the Delhi government to carry out deep desilting of the drain, as a large number of our drains flow into it.”
Also read: First Parliament session in Modi 3.0 ends on bitter note as Oppn walks out of RS during PM’s address
‘Old Parliament building was better’
The Narendra Modi government’s decision, in its previous term, to construct the new Parliament building under its ambitious Central Vista redevelopment plan during the Covid-19 pandemic had drawn severe criticism from the Opposition. Most parties boycotted the inauguration of the new building in 2023.
“The new Parliament building has been built at great expense during a once-in-a-century pandemic with no consultation with the people of India or MPs, for whom it is apparently being built. When the soul of democracy has been sucked out from the Parliament, we find no value in a new building,” a joint statement by 19 Opposition parties had said.
In the all-party meeting ahead of the Budget session, the Opposition had demanded the Central Hall in the old Parliament be kept open for MPs to interact with each other and improve communications across parties.
SP’s Akhilesh Yadav posted on X Thursday that the Old Parliament, “where even the old MPs could come and meet”, was better than the new building. “Why not go back to the Old Parliament, at least till the time the water dripping program is going on in the Parliament built with billions of rupees. People are asking whether water dripping from every new roof constructed under the BJP government is a part of their well thought out design or…?” Yadav wrote.
TMC’s Moitra also took a jibe at the PM over the dripping ceiling. She posted on X: “New Parliament lobby is leaking water. Given the building is a monstrous edifice to @narendramodi’s ego, it is only fitting that it has got shaky post 2024 Lok Sabha results. Bharat Mandapam leaks another case in point,”
Taking to X, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Naseer Hussain pointed out that the “Old Parliament building built 100 years ago never faced any leakage but the new Parliament built just a year ago has started leaking”. He also flagged waterlogging across the capital that caused massive traffic snarls Wednesday evening, bringing central Delhi to a virtual standstill.
This is an updated version of the report
With inputs from Risha Chitlangia.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
Also read: Sudden bout of intense rain hits Delhi. 2 dead after falling into waterlogged drain, schools shut