No, Tata Group Is Not Charging Only One Rupee for the New Parliament Building!

The new Parliament building is not fully constructed yet and the revised budget is over Rs 1,250 crore.

Fact-check: The claim about the new Parliament building being built by the Tata group in one rupee and in just 17 months is false.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A post is making rounds on social media with a claim that the Tata group has decided to build the new Parliament building in 17 months at the cost of just one rupee to the government.

The claim also states that the Tata group did this as a 'gift to the nation'.

This comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the new Parliament building on 30 March.

An archive can be seen here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

(Archives of similar claims can be seen here and here.)

We also received a query about this video on our WhatsApp tipline.

Is this true?: These claims are false.

• The Tata group did not charge only one rupee to the government; the revised estimated budget was over Rs 1,250 crore.

• The government had announced that the new building's construction would be completed in 2022, but some of the portions of the project are still under construction.

Let's take a look at the first myth about the project's budget: 

We found several reports from September 2020 which stated that Tata Projects Limited had won the contract to construct a new Parliament building at the cost of Rs 861.9 crore.

• Mint's report also stated that the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) had opened financial bidding for the construction of the new building.

This article was published on 16 September 2020.

(Source: Mint/Screenshot)

Budget revised in 2021: Further, we found another report by Hindustan Times published on 4 August 2021 which stated a budget that was already spent on the new parliament projects.

• According to the Union government, Rs 301 crore was spent on the Central Vista redevelopment project and Rs 238 crore on the new Parliament building in 2021.

• It also added that the revised estimated cost for the new Parliament building was Rs 971 crore.

This article was published on 4 August 2021.

(Source: HT/Screenshot)

Revised budget in 2022: Next, we came across a report by NDTV shared on 20 January 2022 about the revised budget of the new Parliament.

• The report mentioned that the new Parliament building's cost has shot up by 29 percent, making the estimated budget over Rs 1,250 crore.

This article was published on 20 January 2022.

(Source: NDTV/Screenshot)

The official statement on the government website: The website of the Central Vista project states that the tendered cost of the new Parliament building is Rs 862 crore.

• It also adds that the expenditure incurred on the Parliament building and Central Vista Avenue till March 2021 was Rs 195 crore.

The website mentions details about new projects. 

(Source: Central Vista website/ Screenshot)

Let's take a look at the second myth about the project's construction:

We came across a report by The Indian Express shared on 23 January that stated that the construction began in January 2021, and the government had announced a deadline of November 2022.

• However, the report added some portions of the new Parliament building are still under construction.

This article was published on 23 January 2023.

(Source: The Indian Express/Screenshot)

• Central Vista's official website also states that Modi had laid the project's foundation stone in December 2020, and the construction began after a month.

• The construction is still ongoing, and it has surpassed the 17-month timeline claimed in the viral post.

Lok Sabha's statement over the new projects: We also found a written response given by Lok Sabha from December 2021.

• The document stated that the estimated cost of the new Parliament building is Rs 971 crores which was estimated to be completed by October 2022.

This was released in December 2021. 

(Source: Lok Sabha document/ Screenshot)

Conclusion: The claim about the new Parliament building being built by the Tata group in one rupee and in just 17 months is false.

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