CM Vijay announces new Rs 1,200-crore Secretariat complex for Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Thursday (September 3) announced in the Assembly that a state-of-the-art Secretariat and Assembly complex will be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 1,200 crore.

With a built-up area of 20 lakh square feet, the proposed complex is planned to cater to the administrative requirements of the Tamil Nadu government for the next 100 years.

Making the announcement under Rule 110 in the House, Vijay -- the third Chief Minister to announce a new Secretariat complex, after J Jayalalithaa and M Karunanidhi -- did not reveal the location of the proposed facility.

He stated that constructing a new administrative hub was essential to ensure efficient governance and meet the growing requirements of future public administration.

The proposed complex will flaunt world-class facilities, including advanced fire safety systems, barrier-free access for the differently abled, and green building standards.

It will feature extensive vehicle parking lots, spacious conference halls, Common Service Centres for the visiting public, and modern facilities for government officials.

Announcing plans for the existing Secretariat campus at Fort St George, Vijay said the heritage structures within the historical precinct would be carefully preserved as traditional monuments, allowing future generations to appreciate their historical value.

Explaining why additional construction could not be taken up inside Fort St George, the Chief Minister pointed out that the remaining vacant land within the campus belonged to the Ministry of Defence and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

"The main Secretariat block at Fort St George covers a built-up area of 2.07 lakh square feet, while the adjacent 10-storey Namakkal Kavignar Maaligai, built in 1978, offers 3.75 lakh square feet. These two buildings are no longer sufficient to accommodate over 6,000 Secretariat staff, department secretaries, ministers, and the Chief Minister's office.

Previous attempts by two former Chief Ministers heading the Dravidian party governments to relocate the administrative seat faced major hurdles.

In 2003, AIADMK's J Jayalalithaa proposed constructing a new Secretariat at the Queen Mary’s College campus.

The proposal, which involved demolishing portions of the college, met with intense protests from students and opposition parties, leading to the plan being dropped.

A fresh attempt in 2004 to build the complex in Kotturpuram also failed to materialise.

During the DMK regime from 2006 to 2010, Chief Minister M Karunanidhi chose the Omandurar Government Estate on Anna Salai for a new Assembly-Secretariat complex.

Built at a cost exceeding Rs 1,000 crore, the complex was inaugurated in March 2010, and the Assembly functioned there briefly.

However, when the AIADMK returned to power in 2011, Jayalalithaa shifted the Secretariat back to Fort St George. The Omandurar complex was subsequently converted into a multi-super-speciality government hospital.