- Chennai secretariat
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The New Secretariat in Chennai is situated in the heart of city near Anna Salai. Before the construction of the present secretariat building, the Tamil Nadu assembly was being held at the Fort St. George complex for the last 53 years. This fort was built in 1639 in the period of British, by the East India Company. It served as the administrative nerve centre for South India during the British Raj. After the independence, Fort St. George continued to be the centre of power initially for the Madras Presidency and then for Tamil Nadu Government.
Contents
Inauguration
The new secretariat building was inaugurated by several ministers of the time, including the Prime Minister of India Mr. Manmohan Singh, Congress President Ms. Sonia Gandhi, Union Home Minister Mr.Chidambaram, Central Minister of Textiles Mr. Dayanidhi Maran, Karnataka Chief Minister Mr. Yeddyurappa, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Mr.Konijeti Rosaiah, Kerala Chief Minister Mr.Achuthanathan, Tamil nadu Chief Minister Mr.Karunanidhi.
Location, architecture and design
The new secretariat is located in Anna salai, near Royapettah. The then Chief Minister of Tamil nadu Mr. Karunanidhi reviewed the Assembly design drawings and a decision was taken to reduce the height of the Secretariat building adjoining the Assembly hall. It was earlier proposed that the Secretariat building would be 20 floors in height but it has now been reduced to eight floors.
Hubert Nienhoff, architect and partner in gmp- von Gerkan, Marg und Partner Architects, Berlin, told The Hindu that the height was reduced for three reasons.
- The Assembly would now have only one iconic element: a dome modelled on a temple car. A 20-storied building near it would have competed with the importance of the dome.
- It was felt that the tall tower would hide the dome and make it less visible from certain areas.
- The existing height restriction on buildings also does not permit a 20-storied building and it was decided to abide by the prevalent rules and reduce the height.
PWD Minister Durai Murugan, who was present, told press persons that the firm made a presentation on the ‘B’ block (the Secretariat complex) to the Chief Minister. It would have an area of about 6 lakh sq.ft. The ‘A’ block that houses the Assembly complex would have an area of 9 lakh sq.ft.
The designs were first presented to the Chief Minister in January 2010. The original design had five circular courtyards with the main Assembly hall under a dome in the fourth courtyard. In June 2010, it was revised and the Assembly hall was moved to the second courtyard. The fifth courtyard was dropped. The present modification is the second revision.
Features
This is the first assembly building in Asia to be designed and constructed as green building from inception. The building is well designed and contains many environment-friendly features. The complex is built on the concept of representative democracy. The new secretariat has four circular buildings signifying - the people and the legislature, judiciary and the executive which are the three pillars of representative democracy.
The biggest part in the building is the Public Plaza open to the public eventually. An open air museum is proposed to be built here. There is a circular Assembly hall where the elected representatives of the people debate issues and problems. It is the second largest complex in this building.
The office of the Chief Minister will be the smallest of the four circular buildings. This is the highest institution of the executive branch. It is the wish of the Chief Minister that his building should be the smallest.
Water fountains, paved promenades and richly decorated walls – depicting the traditional Tamil culture adorn this elegant edifice. Building built at a cost of
1,100 crore[1], it is the first State Assembly building in the world to be designed and constructed as a green building.The assembly portion alone is ready now. It may take a few more months for the whole project to be completed.
Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalitha has announced that the new secretariat building will be converted into a hospital. Hospital will be set up in the "A" block and medical college in the "B" block.
References
Categories:- Buildings and structures in Chennai
- Administrative headquarters of state governments in India
- Government of Chennai
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