westminster: Westminster Palace, Parliament of owls?

Speaking of parliament buildings, Britain’s Palace of Westminster is reportedly in dire need of repair and reconstruction. In a report made public earlier this month, Britain’s House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has pointed out the dismal condition of the building, castigating ‘years of procrastination’ and slow pace of renewal work. There is ‘the real risk that the whole building will be destroyed by a catastrophic incident before the work is done, or perhaps even begun’.

As of now, apparently temporary ‘patch-ups’ are holding Westminster together – some critics would say like British democracy itself – at the cost of about 2 million (about Rs 20 crore) a week. We could very well look forward to a parliament of owls in Westminster’s rafters if the royal family doesn’t chip in.

Westminster, originally a 11th century structure, has been damaged a few times before – most seriously in a big fire in 1834, after which it had to be reconstructed, and during the Blitz during World War 2. But this time, it’s the wear and tear and poor maintenance afflicting a big house of an old zamindar with tightened purse strings. As a well-wisher, we could have lent British lawmakers our old Sansad Bhavan till we decide what to do with it. But commute from London to Delhi and back again – once the rage before 1947 – may prove impractical.