PMK leader Anbumani, who has insisted that the Secretariat should not be located in the congested Pattinapakkam area, has said that a separate administrative city should be set up outside Chennai.
It would remain short-sighted
Chief Minister Vijay had announced that a new complex spanning 20 lakh square feet would be built for the Tamil Nadu government’s Secretariat and Legislative Assembly. In that context, unofficial reports have appeared in the media saying that the complex is set to come up in the Pattinapakkam area. If these reports are true, it would indeed be short-sighted.
Chief Minister Vijay, who issued a statement under Rule 110 in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on the 3rd of last month, announced that an administrative complex comprising the Secretariat, the Legislative Assembly Secretariat, and all departmental offices would be built at a cost of Rs. 1,200 crore over an area of 20 lakh square feet. Following that, for the past few days, reports have been appearing in the media that a new Secretariat complex will be constructed in the Pattinapakkam area of Chennai. The reports say that a new 15-storey complex will be built on a total area of 26.36 acres, including 21.37 acres of land belonging to the Housing Board, 0.93 acres of land belonging to the Chennai Corporation, and 1.20 acres of land without documents in the Revenue Department; all facilities will be included in it.
More drawbacks than benefits
There is no disagreement that the Tamil Nadu government needs a new Secretariat. The search for a new Secretariat has been going on for the past 25 years. However, after repeated failures at various stages—from identifying a site to reaching a stage where more than 80% of the work at the Omandurar Government Estate had been completed—this effort now being undertaken by the new government is welcome. Nevertheless, if the new Secretariat complex is to be located in Pattinapakkam, the drawbacks will outweigh the benefits.
The biggest problem in building the new Secretariat in Pattinapakkam is traffic congestion. Since there is already severe traffic congestion on Santhome Road and Greenways Road, a loop road has been built to manage it. In that area are places where large crowds gather, including the famous Santhome Church, well-known schools, and the office of the Inspector General of Registration. If the new Secretariat is also established there, there is a possibility of congestion becoming unmanageable in that area.
Next, the 26.36 acres of land reportedly identified at present is not sufficient to build the new Secretariat, the Legislative Assembly complex, and a complex housing all departmental offices. Although it was announced that the complex, with a total area of 20 lakh square feet, would be built as a 15-storey structure, as per FSI regulations, adequate open space and green space must also be allocated accordingly. In addition, where a Secretariat complex functions, it is mandatory to provide facilities such as a fire station, emergency medical services, restaurants, parking spaces, and public transport access. If such infrastructure facilities are also created at the currently identified site, the space congestion seen in the present Secretariat complex will inevitably arise in the new complex as well very soon.
Chief Minister Vijay, who announced the decision to establish a new Secretariat, said that the new complex would be designed to meet the needs of the next hundred years. If the Chief Minister’s dream is to come true, then in my view Pattinapakkam is not a suitable location for it. The PMK’s demand is that Chief Minister Vijay should, with a long-term vision, begin preparations to establish an integrated administrative city outside Chennai on at least 500 to 1000 acres of land for this purpose.
India is the guide
The Secretariat is the control room of a government. In such a Secretariat, there is a shortage of space; therefore, the demand that a new Secretariat should be built has continued to echo for the past century, ever since democracy began to flourish around the world. In many countries across the world, the solution to this has been to establish an integrated administrative city. In this matter, India has been the guide for the entire world.
During British rule, at the beginning of the 20th century, the government’s secretariat was moved from Kolkata to Delhi. Since there was not enough space in Delhi, which had been the capital during Mughal rule, it was decided to create an administrative city called New Delhi, and its foundation stone was laid on December 12, 1911. The city, which was inaugurated in 1932, has since the British era and up to the present day been home to the government secretariat, the Parliament of independent India, the President’s House, the Supreme Court, and others.
When a similar problem arose in Malaysia, a new administrative headquarters was built in Putrajaya, 34 km from Kuala Lumpur, and opened in 1999. Brazil in South America went one step further and moved even the capital itself from Rio de Janeiro to a new administrative city called Brasilia, 928 km away.
When Jayalalithaa came to power in 2001, she planned to establish an integrated administrative city on the East Coast Road. Following these precedents, the Secretariat for Tamil Nadu and the Legislative Assembly Secretariat should also be developed as an integrated administrative city outside Chennai. He has urged the Tamil Nadu government to take steps to build all the basic infrastructure facilities a city needs, including the Secretariat, the Legislative Assembly Secretariat, all departmental headquarters, residences for the Chief Minister and ministers, housing for government employees, public transport facilities including the metro rail, helicopter landing pads to facilitate visits by national and world leaders, and schools, colleges, indoor sports arenas, and shopping complexes for the children of all employees working in the Secretariat and the Legislative Assembly Secretariat, from administrative officers at the secretary level to lower-level staff.