New Telangana secretariat building to cost around Rs 300-400 cr, state govt tells HC.

Source – thenewsminute.com

The Telangana government on Wednesday informed the Telangana High Court that it would require Rs 300-400 crore to build the new proposed secretariat. The state also sought a 12-month period to finish the construction of the new buildings.

An expert committee last year had recommended demolishing the original buildings and constructing a new secretariat, keeping in mind the growth of the city and the state in the future. The present Legislature of Telangana, located in Hyderabad’s Nampally area, is a heritage structure, which was built in the early 20th century during the rule of the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Mahboob Ali Khan.

Amid the cash crunch in the state and funds being diverted to compensate the lesser funds obtained from the Centre, the High Court on January 2 had asked the state if it still wanted to go ahead with the plans of a new secretariat. The court had also asked the state to file an affidavit detailing the time required to finish the construction, the estimated cost of the construction and the design of the new building.

The state government, represented by Roads and Buildings Principal Secretary Sunil Sharma, on Wednesday said that it is yet to finalise the design plans for the new building. The government said the state cabinet would take a final call on the new secretariat designs. Different architects had sent conceptual plans. These designs and ideas are being evaluated, the affidavit said.

The state also informed that it was not able to finalise the designs due to pendency of PILs before the court. A couple of petitions have been filed before the High Court challenging the impending demolition of the secretariat buildings. Sunil Sharma also said that a total area of 4.45 lakh square feet was allotted to the new secretariat building, consisting of 32 departments, and department-wise space allocation will be finalised only after the finalisation of the building designs.