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Is The New Parliament Building Being Constructed For Rs 1 By Tata Group? No, The Viral Claim Is False
Delhi, 13 April 2023 10:28 AM GMT
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The Tata Group is not constructing the new Parliament House for a mere Rs 1 but Rs 861.9 crore.
An image with text claiming that Tata Group was paid just Rs 1 to construct the new Parliament building is going viral across social media. The claim comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently visited the new Parliament building.
On March 30, 2023, PM Modi visited the new Parliament building on Thursday evening and spent over an hour inspecting the site and interacting with workers. He was accompanied by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Urban Affairs Secretary Manoj Joshi while surveying various amenities at the Parliament House.
Claim:
The viral graphic contains an image of the new Parliament House along with a caption that reads as follows, “New Indian Parliament House. Two new records: 1. It was built in merely 17 months. 2. TATA built it, and only one rupee was the cost to the government. This is TATA's gift to our great Nation.”
The image is viral across Facebook and Twitter with a similar claim.
Fact Check:
We conducted a keyword search for ‘Tata Group’ and ‘Parliament House’, and came across a report published by Economic Times on September 17, 2020, titled, ‘At Rs 861.9 crore, Tata Projects outbid L&T for Parliament work’.
The Economic Times report notes that Tata Projects won the contract to build India’s new Parliament building as a part of the government’s Central Vista redevelopment plans, beating out Larsen & Toubro. Tata Projects offered to execute the project for Rs 861.9 crore, just Rs 3.1 crore less than L&T’s bid of Rs 865 crore.
A report published by the Indian Express on September 16, 2020, titled, ‘Tata Projects Ltd wins bid to construct new parliament building at Rs 861 crore’ carried the same information.
On September 22, 2020, in a reply to Unstarred Question No. 1896 asked in the Lok Sabha regarding the Central Vista Redevelopment Project, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs noted that the estimated construction cost of the new Parliament House is Rs 971 crore.
The Lok Sabha answer also notes, “The tender for construction of the new Parliament Building has been invited through open competitive bidding. M/s TATA Projects Ltd emerged as the lowest tenderer with the quoted amount of Rs. 861.91 crores.”
Concerning the status of the new Parliament House, we checked the Central Vista website. This listed the construction of the building as an active project.
As per a Hindustan Times report published on December 20, 2022, titled, ‘Race against time to complete new Parliament building by March 2023’. The Hindustan Times report notes that the government is rushing to complete the new Parliament building, to open the new building in the coming budget session that starts in January.
An NDTV report from January 20, 2022, titled, ‘New Parliament Building Cost Shoots Up By 29% To Over ₹ 1,250 Crore’ notes that the construction of the new parliament building will cost another Rs 282 crore.
“The 29 percent hike over the budgeted cost of ₹ 977 crore comes more than a year after the groundbreaking ceremony, which took place in December 2020. Forty per cent of the work is completed by Tata Projects, which is executing the project,” the NDTV report reads.
After scanning social media, we also came across an All India Radio News tweet published on March 30, 2023. The tweet reads, “PM Narendra Modi visited the new Parliament building for a surprise visit.
He spent more than an hour and inspected various works and observed the facilities coming up at both houses of the Parliament; Also interacted with the construction workers.”
Conclusion:
We found that the claim on social media regarding the Parliament House is baseless. The Tata Group is not constructing the new Parliament House for a mere Rs 1 but Rs 861.9 crore. The building was not completed in 17 months and is still under construction. The viral claim is false and absurd.
If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.
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