KATHMANDU, March 12: Preparations are intensifying for the first meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR) in the multipurpose hall of the new Parliament building, which is currently under construction at the Singha Durbar complex. The Department of Urban Development and Building Construction (DUDBC), under the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), is making arrangements to temporarily host the House meeting in the hall.
According to the DUDBC, work is underway to install chairs, microphones and a sound system in the hall. The HoR has 275 members, and an additional 25 chairs will be placed in the hall. A podium has also been prepared, with a separate chair for the Speaker.
The DUDBC is also planning to place flower pots inside and outside the meeting hall. Work is also underway to pave the road leading to the hall and the surrounding areas.
According to DUDBC Director General Rabindra Bohara, tasks such as arranging the chairs, installing the sound system, paving the road and placing flower pots will be completed by Saturday.
Will new parliament building be ready before March 5?
“After that, the hall will be ready for convening the parliamentary meeting,” Bohara said, adding that 94 percent of the construction work on the new Parliament building has already been completed.
The new Parliament complex includes four large halls. One hall is designated for the HoR, another for the National Assembly, while the remaining two have been built for multipurpose use.
“For the time being, some parliamentary meetings will be held in the multipurpose hall. Once the halls designated for the House of Representatives and the National Assembly are fully completed, those will be used,” Bohara said. “The hall prepared for the House meeting is located on the ground floor, while the multipurpose halls are on the first floor.”
According to him, two rooms near the multipurpose hall have also been prepared and will be used for VIPs. A total of 12 buildings (blocks) are being constructed within the new Parliament complex, and the department claims that construction of all the structures will be completed within six months.
The DUDBC has already informed the Chief Secretary and the Federal Parliament Secretariat that a hall inside the new Parliament building is close to being ready to host the first meeting of the HoR. Director General Bohara said he personally met Chief Secretary Suman Raj Aryal and Federal Parliament Secretary-General Padam Pandey on Monday to brief them on the progress.
“They were concerned about whether the hall would be ready before the first parliamentary meeting was called. We have assured them that a main hall will be prepared for the first meeting,” Bohara said. “They had even come to the Parliament building to observe the progress themselves.”
Bohara added that Minister for Urban Development Kumar Ingnam has also been closely monitoring the progress and seeking daily updates.
Since the vote counting of the HoR election has already been completed, the government now faces pressure to prepare the hall for the upcoming parliamentary meeting. The ministry has assigned the responsibility to the Department of Building Construction.
According to Bohara, workers are working overnight to ensure that at least one main hall is ready in time.
“Workers are currently working throughout the night, and we are monitoring the progress daily. Under any circumstances, we must prepare at least one hall before the parliamentary meeting is called,” he said.
The parliamentary meeting is likely to be held within the third week of March. The government is constructing the new Parliament building within the Singha Durbar complex at an investment of nearly Rs 5 billion.
