Telangana to build new secretariat worth Rs 150 cr

The Telangana cabinet on Friday decided to move the state Secretariat to a new 62-acre site at Erragadda, where the Nizam Chest Hospital is now located. 

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said “vastu” defect was one of many reasons why the government had decided to move the Secretariat from the building near Hussainsagar, where the Telangana government is sharing the Secretariat with Andhra Pradesh. 

Rao said the new Secretariat would bring all departments under one roof while also providing accommodation to the staff. 

“This secretariat has terrible vastu defects. It is a fact; Telangana should not suffer because of bad vastu. Hence we have decided to shift the secretariat and the construction would be completed in a year,” Rao said. 

The chief minister, who had set aside Rs 150 crore for the project immediately, had pooh-poohed criticisms over the move since the Nizam Chest Hospital is a heritage site.

 “Who said that heritage sites should not be touched? The issue of heritage structures has lost some of its real meaning. The land where the hospital stands is also heritage. Meaningful heritage is ok. Mindless heritage is not ok. However,  we will follow rules and construct the new secretariat,” a resolute-sounding Rao said.

The chief minister, known for his superstitious beliefs, said the government will also fulfil its vow of offerings to various deities in the country over the formation of a separate state. 

Accordingly, it would offer ornaments worth Rs 5 crore to Lord Venkateswara, and jewelleries to deities in Warangal and Vijayawada, while also giving a “chadar” to Ajmer Sharif Dargah.

Rao came under fire from the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee unit for his decision to shift the Secretariat to the Erragadda Hospital by first moving it to Vikarabad, some 60 km away.   

“These decisions by Rao seem to have some ulterior real estate motives. What is wrong with the secretariat that successfully ran on the banks of Hussainsagar Lake,” STPCC spokesperson Shabbir Ali asked.

Meanwhile, a decision by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to build another temporary office in Vijayawada also came under fire. 

Naidu has splurged money on refurbishing the H block in the common secretariat here and spent a further Rs 10 crore on shifting once again to L block citing vastu defects in H block.

“While a temporary secretariat will be fabricated in Tullur, the new capital city of Andhra Pradesh, another temporary office will be developed as per “vastu” on the first floor of Irrigation department in Vijayawada wasting valuable tax payer’s money,” YSR Congress spokesperson Ambati Rambabu said.