Staff Reporter
RAIPUR,
Congress National President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi congratulate people of Chhattisgarh on beginning of construction of new Vidhan Sabha building
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Assembly Speaker Dr Charan Das Mahant laid foundation stone for new building of Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly at Sector-19, Nava Raipur in Atal Nagar on Saturday. Congress National President Sonia Gandhi, former Congress National President Rahul Gandhi, All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary Motilal Vora and Chhattisgarh Congress In-charge P L Punia also participated in the programme through video conferencing. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Assembly Speaker Dr Charan Das Mahant unveiled the plaque by pressing the button for construction of new building of Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said that State Government has started construction of Governor House, CM House and houses for Cabinet ministers and senior officers in a bid to establish population in Nava Raipur, Atal Nagar.
The Chief Minister said that State Government would make all efforts to complete the construction of new building for Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha at the earliest. In his address, Assembly Speaker Dr Charan Das Mahant said that the budget provision for construction of new building for Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha was made in the Supplementary Budget, which was passed in the Vidhan Sabha yesterday. Vidhan Sabha is the temple of democracy where constructive discussions are held by the members, said Dr Mahant. It was a big moment that Sonia Gandhi, who had laid the foundation of the new capital at Nava Raipur, participated in the foundation stone laying ceremony of new building for Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha. Dr Mahant assured Sonia Gandhi that every MLA in Chhattisgarh will play an important role to take Chhattisgarh on rapid path of progress.
The Assembly Speaker congratulated Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Tamradhwaj Sahu for starting construction of new building for Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha. Dr Mahant requested the Chief Minister to complete the construction of new building of the Vidhan Sabha before conclusion of tenure of the fifth Vidhan Sabha so that the one session of the fifth Vidhan Sabha could be conducted in the new building before Assembly polls-2023.
PWD Minister Tamradhwaj Sahu said that according to the strength of MLAs, the new building will be constructed in 51 acres of land, in which Speaker gallery, officers’ gallery, VIP gallery, journalist’s gallery and visitor’s gallery will be constructed. Total area of the new building is 52,497 square metres. Rooms, meeting hall and staff rooms for Assembly Speaker, Chief Minister, Leader of Opposition, Deputy Speaker, Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary, Secretary and other Secretaries of Legislative Assembly will be constructed. Rooms for different committees, library, allopathic, homeopathic and ayurvedic hospitals, post office, railway reservation counter and banks will also be constructed. Construction of road and beautification including plantation drive around the Legislative Assembly building will also be taken up. The new Vidhan Sabha building has a capacity for 200 MLAs. Space has also been also reserved for Chhattisgarh Legislative Council if it comes into existence in future, said the PWD Minister.
The PWD Minister recalled that first session of Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha was held at Jashpur Bhawan of Rajkumar College Raipur after Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh in 2000. Later, the building of the Central Ground Water Board was converted into Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha. Congress National President Sonia Gandhi in her recorded address has congratulated Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel government and the people of State for beginning of new building of Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ravindra Choubey read the message of former Congress National President Rahul Gandhi.
Leader of Opposition in Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly Dharamlal Kaushik expressed happiness over beginning of new building for Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha. Kaushik said that the houses for MLAs should be constructed in Nava Raipur soon. Principal Secretary of Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha Chandra Shekhar Gangrade proposed a vote of thanks. Deputy Assembly Speaker Manoj Mandavi, Cabinet ministers T S Singhdeo, Amarjeet Bhagat, Dr Premsai Singh Tekam, Umesh Patel, Dr Shiv Kumar Dahariya, Jaisingh Agrawal, Anila Bhedia, Chief Secretary R P Mandal, Additional Chief Secretary Amitabh Jain, Additional Chief Minister Subrat Sahoo, Secretary of PWD Siddharth Komal Singh Pardeshi, MLAs and officers attended the programme.