A new integrated Secretariat and Legislative Assembly complex, spread over 20 lakh square feet, is going to come up in Chennai with an estimated cost of Rs 1,200 crore. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay announced it on Thursday. However, the CM did not specify the location for the complex.
According to him, the new complex, equipped with modern facilities to meet the administrative requirements of the state, would bring all government departments together under a single administrative campus.
The proposed complex would have fire-safety facilities, facilities for the movement and access of persons with disabilities, and infrastructure conforming to green-building standards. Adequate parking facilities, conference halls, public service centres, and modern amenities for officials would also be provided.
This announcement was made by the CM on the floor of the State Assembly under Rule 110. CM Vijay clarified that the decision to establish a new Secretariat complex had been necessitated by the expansion of the state government’s administrative responsibilities and the severe constraints on further development at Fort St George.
The current Secretariat functions from two buildings. The main building houses the Legislative Assembly, the chambers of the Chief Minister, Ministers, and the Chief Secretary, besides the Finance Department and other important departments. It has a floor area of 2,07,000 square feet.
Another building, called Namakkal Kavignar Maaligai, which was constructed in 1978 to meet the govt’s expanding administrative requirements, has a floor area of 3,75,000 square feet, comprising a ground floor and ten upper floors. More than 6,000 employees belonging to over 30 government departments work in the buildings.
It should be pointed out here that Fort St George, which has been the administrative centre of Tamil Nadu for nearly 400 years, was constructed by the East India Company in 1644. After Madras was elevated to the status of a Presidency in 1652, the Fort became the principal seat of British administrative authority.
After independence, it continued to function as the Secretariat of the Tamil Nadu govt and has remained a symbol of the state’s administrative heritage.
CM Vijay explained the need for constructing a new Secretariat cum Assembly complex, saying over the past four decades, the number of employees in the Secretariat and the administrative responsibilities of the government had increased substantially, while the existing infrastructure had remained largely unchanged. He further said that the constraints imposed by Defence and ASI land had also prevented the construction of additional buildings.
So, according to him, it was necessary to establish a new integrated Secretariat complex to facilitate efficient governance and create world-class public administration infrastructure.
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