CM Vijay to leave Fort, shift to 10th floor at Kavignar Maaligai's sea view

CHENNAI: Amid recurrent issues over space crunch at the Secretariat in Fort St George, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) is all set to move out of the historic main building, as renovation works are in full pace at the Namakkal Kavignar Maaligai (NKM) to accommodate Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay.

Sections of three key government departments are being relocated along with the CMO. This is a significant move after the then J Jayalalithaa government moved back three government departments to Fort St George in 2011, reversing the previous M Karunanidhi-led regime's decision to shift to the newly built Omandurar Government Estate, which the then AIADMK government later converted into a hospital.

The 10-storey NKM building at present houses the offices of Secretaries and sections of 34 government departments and serves as the administrative hub of the State Secretariat. CM Vijay is expected to take the 10th floor of the complex with a clear sea view.

Since assuming office, Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has been functioning from the first floor of the Main Building at Fort St George, where the Chief Minister's Office has been located for over six decades. Officials said the government has now decided to relocate the CMO to the 10th floor of the NKM building, citing a space crunch affecting teeming visitors, even though speculation over many other reasons is making the rounds.

According to officials, the Public Works Department (PWD) has begun preparatory work for the shift. The proposed CMO will be established in the existing dining hall adjacent to the conference hall on the 10th floor at Namakkal Kavignar Maaligai. Furniture and other fixtures in the dining hall will be removed and shifted to Kalaivanar Arangam to facilitate the new office.

The relocation of the CMO has necessitated the shifting of sections functioning on the 10th floor. Officials said sections of the Information and Tamil Development Department, Home (Prohibition) Department and Commercial Taxes Department will be relocated along with the CMO.

Among them, the Information and Tamil Development Department will move out of the Secretariat and function from Kalaivanar Arangam, while the sections of the other two departments will be accommodated elsewhere within the Fort St George campus.

The last major relocation took place during the DMK government (2006–11) when the Secretariat was shifted to the newly constructed Omandurar Government Estate complex in 2010. Several key departments, including the Public Department and the Assembly Secretariat, had then moved out of Fort St George before the Secretariat later returned to its original premises after J Jayalalithaa took over the reins in 2011.

The NKM building was constructed by Parsn Foundation and Engineering Company and inaugurated by the then Chief Minister M Karunanithi in 1975, which went through many renovations later on.