Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Parliamentary meetings are set to return to Sigha Durbar premises after 17 years.
The new House of Representatives elected on March 5 will now convene in the under-construction Federal Parliament Building located within Singha Durbar.
After the 2008 Constituent Assembly election, the old parliamentary building, or Gallery Hall, on the Singha Durbar premises was deemed too small for a 601-member parliament. As a result, parliamentary sessions have been held at the International Convention Centre in New Baneshwor since 2008. However, the International Convention Centre building in Baneshwor was destroyed by fire during the protests in September last year. As a result, meetings of the National Assembly are being held in the meeting hall of the Agriculture Committee within the Singha Durbar premises.
Before the Constituent Assembly era, parliamentary meetings were regularly held in the old gallery hall at Singha Durbar. Nepal’s parliamentary history, which began in 1959, began in that very building.
The Federal Parliament Secretariat had signed an agreement in May 2008 with the International Convention Centre Development Committee to use the building for parliamentary sessions. It had been paying an annual fee of Rs 16.5 million per year till October last year, when the contract was terminated. The Secretariat, however, terminated the contract in October last year.
The 275 newly elected House of Representatives members will be sworn in at 2 pm on March 27.
As the construction of the main hall of the new Parliament Building at Singha Durbar is still incomplete, the Secretariat plans to use a multipurpose hall on the new Parliament Building premises for the oath ceremony and initial meetings.
Ekram Giri, the Spokesperson of the Federal Parliament Secretariat, said alternative arrangements have been made for the oath-taking and the first meeting of the new house.
Preparations to convene the House of Representatives began after the Election Commission published its final results. Senior-most member, Arjun Nar Singh KC, will take the oath of office and secrecy from President Ram Chandra Paudel at the Office of the President on Wednesday. He will then administer the oath to all newly elected members on March 2612 at the new Parliament Building, Giri added.
Once completed, the new Parliament Complex, being built on more than 151 ropanis of land, will house all federal parliamentary activities. It will include 12 buildings, including those for the House of Representatives, National Assembly, VIP facilities, and other offices.
