LUCKNOW: Following the trend set by the Centre, if all goes well, Uttar Pradesh will have a new legislature building by 2027 as the Yogi Adityanath government has expedited the search for a suitable site.
Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana had announced early this year that the state would get a new Vidhan Sabha building. He had claimed that UP CM was monitoring the proposed development.
As per sources, the foundation of the new building is likely to be laid on December 25, the birth anniversary of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. A government spokesperson said Rs 50 crore had already been allocated in the recent budget to meet the basic expenses towards the construction of the building.
In fact, the requirement to replace the existing 95-year-old Vidhan Sabha building was felt in the 1990s owing to a space crunch. Subsequently, many studies were conducted to analyse the situation.
The UP Vidhan Bhawan, which houses both the Vidhan Sabha (Assembly) and the Vidhan Parishad (Council), does not provide adequate seating space. The assembly has a seating space for only 379 members whereas the UP house has 403 members in the Vidhan Sabha. The situation turns trickier when the state Governor has to address the joint sitting of both houses of the legislature.
Initially, there was a plan to have a replica of the existing structure on a bigger piece of land opposite to it. However, the previous SP government planned to have Lok Bhawan which has come up in its place.
Then it was planned to shift Lucknow Zoo and utilise the space for the new Vidhan Bhawan. Even other lands were evaluated in the centre of the city but paucity of space came out to be a big obstacle in having the new building within the city.
As per sources, 160 acres of land is needed for the construction of Vidhan Bhawan. Sources said the UP government has zeroed in on the new site in Chak Ganjaria area of state capital Lucknow. However, it is yet to be finalised.
The existing Vidhan Sabha is a marvel of Indo-European architecture. It has got the front portion in the shape of crescent, the central part has a large Gothic dome and the entire building is made up of sandstone blocks that were brought from East UP.