KCR’s Vaastufriendly office closer to reality
HYDERABAD: Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s glitzy Vaastu-friendly secretariat complex is closer to reality, surpassing hurdles of land sourcing and protests from rivals who say the project will hurt the environment and gut crucial funds.
The chief minister is a firm believer in Vaastu. His fascination with the system is such that he has a dedicated Vaastu adviser — Suddala Sudhakar Teja — who has drawn up the plan for the palatial building along with renowned Mumbai-based architects Hafeez Contractor.
Teja said the design has all Vaastu “elements that suit the ruler”. “It is going to be 100% Vaastu compliant. We have designed the building in such a way that it will provide a healthy working environment that will help the CM in effective decision-making,” he said, days after design was released on Wednesday.
The total construction cost is estimated at ₹300 crore, but Opposition says spends will not be less than ₹1,000 crore .
Initially, the chief minister suggested the existing secretariat complex be demolished and a new complex be raised. He believed that having an administrative building facing a water body (Hussain Sagar lake) was against Vaastu.
The chief minister stopped going to the secretariat and operated from his own camp office at Begumpet, which he got remodelled as Pragati Bhavan at a cost of ₹50 crore last year.
According to the designs, the new secretariat resembles the Federal Building in Chicago and the National Palace in Santo Domingo of Dominican Republic in its elevation.