Old Secretariat to house city government offices

Assembly building will become an extension of State Museum

The existing buildings will not be demolished after the construction of a new Secretariat and Assembly building and the international convention centre at Bison Polo Ground.

The authorities are planning to shift all government offices, located in different parts in the GHMC limits to the existing Secretariat building so that people can avail government services conveniently under one roof.

The State government is planning to convert the existing Assembly building into a museum, which will be an extension to the State Museum, located in Public Gardens near the Assembly building.

The government has also dropped the plans to demolish Ravindra Bharathi, which will be renovated and rented out to conduct cultural and literary programmes at an affordable rate.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao wanted to construct the new Secretariat and Ravindra Bharathi at the same location by demolishing the existing buildings.

However, there was no plan to demolish the Assembly building as it falls under the heritage category.

The Chief Minister had also sought the help of noted architect Hafeez Contractor who had submitted the designs of the Secretariat and Ravindra Bharathi.

But the proposal to demolish the existing buildings invited sharp criticism from all quarters. A few persons filed cases in the High Court, which forced the government to shelf the plans.

However, with the Centre willing to transfer Bison Polo Ground to the state government to construct the new Secretariat, Assembly building and the international convention centre, the debate over the fate of the existing buildings surfaced.

The Chief Minister, who discussed the issue with his cabinet colleagues and concerned officials at Pragathi Bhavan on Wednesday, decided not to demolish the existing buildings as it might lead to legal complications.

Sources in the Chief Minister’s office said, “The government decided to shift all government offices, located in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits, to the existing Secretariat building to bring all the services under one roof. At present, these offices are scattered all over the city due to which people are facing many hardships.”

Regarding the existing Assembly building, it was decided to be used as an extension to the State Museum, which is facing space crunch. The Nizam-era State Museum at Public gardens also needs repairs to be done, the sources added.