The desire to work in the state-of-the-art secretariat, under construction for over a year-and-a-half now, remains unfulfilled for employees who are now working in a scattered manner ever since the State government started demolition of the old secretariat complex.
After some initial hiccups, the construction of the integrated secretariat complex in the heart of the city is no doubt progressing at a brisk pace as the construction agency and supervising officials of the Roads and Buildings department are working overtime to complete the works.
But the question remains, whether the officials can do it before Vijayadasami in October, the new deadline set for the completion of the iconic building. The reason: works pertaining to the four towers and the central dome are yet to start and the construction agency is left with less than six months for hand-over of the fully completed building by October. “We want to finish the work by September-end and are hopeful that the works will be completed by that time,” says an official, sounding optimistic about meeting the deadline.
The idea of construction of a new secretariat building materialised after the Andhra Pradesh government headed by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy handed over four buildings of the old complex in its possession to Telangana. This was despite the provision to retain them till 2024 according to the AP Reorganisation Act, which made Hyderabad a joint capital for the two Telugu States for a period of 10 years from the date of bifurcation of the erstwhile State on June 2, 2014. The development that came under the auspices of the then Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan paved the way for designing and constructing the new and integrated complex that envisaged bringing offices of all the key departments under one roof. The Telangana government started the works after Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao performed the ground-breaking ceremony towards the end of June 2019.
Demolition debate
But the demolition of the old secretariat complex itself was riddled with controversies as the government took up the process all of a sudden. The matter landed in the High Court with environmentalists expressing concern over the construction of the new complex in the environmentally sensitive zone abutting the Hussainsagar.
Demolition of the old secretariat, comprising 10 blocks, including a Nizam-era building ‘G’ block with a total built-up area of over 9 lakh sq.ft, started on July 7, but had to be stopped briefly following a stay granted by the High Court in response to a public interest litigation filed against razing of the old complex. The process resumed after the court dismissed the PILs, and it took close to four months as the construction agency had to raze all the buildings and remove the debris without inconveniencing the people.
After completion of levelling of the ground and other formalities, the actual construction work commenced in November 2020 after the government managed to clear the legal hurdles. The government had set a deadline of one year for the construction agency, Shapoorji Pallonji Group. The deadline, however, could not be met, thanks to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which delayed works by a few months at a stretch since a majority of the labour force migrated to their native places.
The iconic building, taken up at an estimated cost of ₹616 crore, was designed with lower ground, ground and 11 floors with a built-up area of 64,989 sq.m (around seven lakh sq.ft). Incorporating plug and play facilities for all the departments, the new complex would be spread over an area of 600 feet x 300 feet building occupying 9.7% of the 25.5-acre land. The proposed new Secretariat complex will see the full play of Internet of Things (IoT), going by the assertion of architects.
Futuristic design
The interiors as well as the exteriors of the new complex had been designed in a futuristic way with thermal sensitive and voice-controlled lighting. The lights would switch on automatically as one walks in and would be switched off as one walks out because of the thermal sensors. “We are looking beyond 20 years from now in finalising the designs for the interiors,” say architects Oscar Concessao and Ponni Concessao of the Chennai-based Oscar and Ponni Architects which has been entrusted with the task of preparing the designs for the new Secretariat complex.
The government had initially contemplated the new complex with around 5.5 lakh sq.ft area, which was subsequently increased to around 7 lakh sq.ft for providing other amenities as well as landscaping works and installation of fountains. The complex, envisaged as part of secretariat that was handed over to Telangana post bifurcation, had a built up area of 3.81 lakh sq.ft and was also lacking adequate fire safety measures.
In addition to key departments, the new complex is expected to accommodate offices of the heads of departments which were hitherto functioning from offices outside the secretariat, utilising over 3 lakh sq.ft additional built-up area that will be available once construction of the new complex is completed in all respects.
Cost revision
The State Cabinet had initially given its approval for the construction of the new secretariat at a cost of ₹400 crore, but it had to be revised to ₹616 crore. The increased estimate was justified on the grounds that the government had to provide additional amenities to the officials as well as visitors to ensure that they are not put to inconvenience.
Work on the complex progressed briskly ever since it commenced in mid-November after the government completed all the formalities and handed over the possession of the land to the construction agency. And, according to the agreement signed between the construction agency and the government, the complex completed in all respects was to be handed over to the government in the third week of November last year.
The deadline, however, could not be met as a section of workers contracted COVID-19, following which a majority of them left for their native places. Not even 25% of the 1,200-plus workers engaged were present on the worksite for several days, severely hitting the works. Coupled with the pandemic were Holi festival and elections in West Bengal last year because of which workers, engaged mostly from the northern parts of the country, left the city and did not return in time as COVID-19 restrictions were still in force.
Construction resumed later after the restrictions were lifted gradually early last year and picked up pace in the past few months. As of now, close to 80% of the civil works have been completed and internal works like plumbing, plastering and electrical works are in progress in the seven-storey base structure, works on which had been completed. This would be followed by finishing works from the top of the complex.
Uncertainty, however, surrounds the start of the finishing works as the officials are yet to start work on construction of four towers and a central dome. The four towers and central dome form part of the design based on Deccan architecture. The selection of Deccani-style design itself attracted criticism from a section of political parties which claimed that it reflected bias towards a particular community.
But, the criticism was nullified by the architecture firm, which finalised the design after incorporating the changes suggested by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao. The reputed architects asserted that the ideas and inspiration of the domes on the facade of the imposing new complex were drawn from major temples — Neelakanteshwara temple and Hanuman temple in Sarangapur in Nizamabad district and the Thousand Pillar temple at Hanamkonda in addition to the Wanaparthy Palace.
“Close to 80% of the civil works have been completed with commencement of works on dome and towers still pending. Road formation for connecting the main complex has started and this will be followed by landscaping,” a senior official told The Hindu.
The construction agency has, however, decided to take up greenery works after completion of the construction since there will be movement of heavy vehicles around the place as long as the works go on.
In the meantime, red sandstones to be used for decoration of the complex have started arriving from mines in Rajasthan. Work on polishing and fitting them to the complex for an aesthetic look would be taken up as and when the finishing works are taken up after completion of the four towers and the central dome.
