New Parliament Building To Have Underground Tunnels To Link PM, VP Residence, PMO And MP Chambers 

The new under-construction Parliament building will link the upcoming residence of the Prime Minister, the Vice-President’s house and chambers of MPs through separate underground tunnels. This is to ensure lesser disruption amid VIP movements in and around the temple of democracy.

The PM house and the PMO is slated to be on the South Block side whereas the VP’s residence will be on the North Block side as per the Central Vista redevelopment plan. Similarly, the MP’s chambers will be located right across the Parliament where the Transport and Shram Shakti Bhawans are presently positioned.

Apparently, the Rashtrapati Bhavan will not be linked to the new Parliament building considering that it is already some distance away and that the President’s visit to the Parliament are few and pre-scheduled. These tunnels will probably be of a single-lane to facilitate exclusive movement of designated people, Times of India reports.

The underpasses will also be stretched across short lengths and hence golf carts could be used to travel to the Parliament. Providing subterranean routes is reportedly a primary objective of the Central Vista redevelopment plan. It could potentially enhance and ease the public access of the area around the Parliament complex.

As of now, stretches of the Central Vista and the Lutyens Bungalow Zone are barricaded for security purposes and to make way for VIP movements. This hampers daily commute of common people and through these aforementioned developments, VIPs will use these routes only on special occasions such as the parade on the Republic Day.

“In the proposed development at the Central Vista, as a strategy to improve public access in the area for visitors and tourists, the routes of VIPs that need high security are segregated from regular public movement routes. The residences of the Vice President and the Prime Minister, and the chambers for the MPs are proposed in close proximity to the Parliament building,” one of the sources quoted in the report said.