Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania while addressing the honourable members inside the House said that today it is a matter of happiness for all of us that the Council Chamber where we are all seated has completed 100 years. On this day 100 years ago on 20 August, 1925, the Viceroy of India Lord Reading inaugurated this building. This magnificent building has been witness to many historical events which are unforgettable and incomparable.
Pathania said that the historic Council Chamber is one of the last architectural wonders built during the British rule. Before the then government resolved to build this chamber, the then Public Works Member Sir Claude Hill took extraordinary care to seek the views of the legislators about the nature and character of the building. For this he appointed a committee of fifteen legislators from across the country, who deliberated on every aspect. The result was this magnificent building which was constructed from the year 1925 at a cost of ₹8.5 lakhs.
He said there is no doubt that since the building came into existence a hundred years ago, the Council Chamber has been a witness to the defining moments of our legislative history. It once housed the Central Legislative Assembly and has echoed the voices of great personalities within its walls. It has witnessed the grandeur of Viceroys and the dignity and glory of great personalities like Shri Vithalbhai Patel and Shri Motilal Nehru.
Pathania said that after independence, this building served many purposes. At different times, it housed important offices of the secretariats of the Punjab government and the Himachal Pradesh government. For some time, the studios of Akashvani were also located in a part of this building. History was created when the first session of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly was held here on October 1, 1963.
He said that the historic Speaker’s Chair gifted to the Central Legislative Assembly by the then Burmese Government is equally invaluable and is serving its noble purpose as the Speaker’s Chair of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly. It is a living relic of our parliamentary heritage which is a bridge between the grandeur of our past and our democratic present.
