Sites for the new UP Assembly building include a zoo, farm, MLAs' residence

The Lucknow Zoo, the Darulshafa complex that houses legislators and the Chak Gajaria farm on Sultanpur road, are among the options for the new Vidhan Sabha in Lucknow.

The hunt has begun for a suitable site for a new building as the state government studies various options due to a space crunch in the existing building that was inaugurated 95 years ago.

The state has a bicameral legislature comprising the Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly) and the Vidhan Parishad (Legislative Council).

A token sum of Rs 50 crore was earmarked in the state’s budget for 2023-24 to carry out the preliminary work like the selection of site and the appointment of a consultant.

According to Assembly speaker Satish Mahana, “Yes, a need for a new building for the state Legislative Assembly has been felt. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has been requested and he is personally monitoring the progress for the same. The chief minister will take a call about the next step to be taken.”

A preliminary study may be carried out before a decision to prepare a detailed project report is taken in the coming months.

The Darul Shafa area that houses the legislators’ residences in the heart of the state capital may be one of the options.

This option was considered in the 1990s and a replica of the Vidhan Bhavan was proposed in front of the existing building. However , the Lok Bhavan has come up on a part of this space. The plan to shift Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Gardens from Hazratganj area to Kukrail on the city outskirts may provide another option for the new Vidhan Bhavan.

The available land near the Chak Gajaria farm on Sultanpur Road on the outskirts of the city is also under consideration.

A senior officer said, “We are still studying various options for the project. Further steps will be taken once a decision is taken.”

The space crunch at the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Bhavan came to fore when the Vidhan Sabha decided to implement the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) after the 2022 Assembly elections to make the functioning of the House paperless.

The state legislative Assembly with a sanctioned strength of 403 members had seats for only 379 members.

The implementation of NeVA required a dedicated seat with a fixed computer tablet for every member. Additional seats were needed for the ministers, who are not members of the lower house.

Vidhan Sabha speaker Satish Mahana sat with his team of officers and worked out a solution to increase the number of seats.

At many places, additional rows were added and the space within used to increase 35 more seats in the House, which now has seats for all the members.

Additional seats have led to more space constraints, which becomes more acute when the Governor addresses a joint sitting of the two Houses of the state legislature. Additional seats are placed in the well of the House to accommodate the members of the Upper House on such days.

Parliamentary affairs and Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna, who had made an announcement in the state legislative Assembly on March 3 about the new building, said that funds have been allocated for (preliminary work) on the new building in the budget for the financial year 2023-24.

The Speaker, meanwhile, said that the new legislature building may be completed before the end of the term of the 18th state Assembly in 2027.

It is noteworthy that the then United Provinces Governor, Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler, had laid the foundation stone of the Vidhan Bhavan in Lucknow on December 15, 1922, and it was inaugurated on February 21, 1928.

Back then, a sum of Rs 21 lakh was sanctioned for the Vidhan Bhavan which is one of the finest examples of Indo-European architectural craftsmanship. The new building may provide an opportunity to have an Indian architectural marvel.

The front portion of the two-storey present Vidhan Bhavan, shaped like a crescent, has been built with light brown sandstone blocks from Mirzapur’s Chunar in eastern Uttar Pradesh.

The centre of the crescent has a large Gothic dome with a skylight and the hall below this is the Vidhan Sabha.

In July 1935, a proposal for construction of a new chamber and office rooms for the new Legislative Council was made.

This extension was completed in 1937. The building of the legislative council is connected to the main Vidhan Bhavan building by verandas with rooms on both sides.

Uttar Pradesh BJP vice-president and MLC Vijay Pathak said the Vidhan Bhavan has space constraints and the state government proposes to have a new building to resolve this.

Ashish Srivastava, a leading architect of Lucknow, said he would favour renovating the existing building and creating space by shifting the offices from there to the secretariat buildings nearby. He said the new parliament building in New Delhi has been constructed close to the existing building. In Lucknow, the area around Lok Bhavan, including the Darulshafa may be used for the purpose, he suggested.

He said he would not favour the option of the present zoo area for the new building as this is the breathing space (for the city) and no such activity should be carried out there.

“Uttar Pradesh is facing three major problems --poverty, rising inflation and rising employment. We have no objection to a new building to house the state legislature, but the state government needs to set its priorities,” said Samajwadi Party leader Manoj Pandey.

Congress Legislature Party leader Aradhana Mishra Mona said the state government should expand the existing Vidhan Bhawan building and have modern facilities there. If there is any paucity of space, the adjoining areas may be used for the purpose of expansion, she said.