KCR’s Vaastufriendly office closer to reality
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 CM, known as KCR, is a firm believer in Vaastu, an ancient system of building planning that focuses on directional alignments for harmony and good luck. 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 and good working environment that will help the chief minister in effective decision-making. There will be flow of natural energy from all sides,” he said, days after the design was released.
The total construction cost is estimated at ₹300 crore, but opposition parties say spends will not be less than ₹1,000 crore after cost of land, interiors and other infrastructure facilities is counted.
The Telangana chief minister is planning to get the foundation stone laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last week of November, when he is set to reach Hyderabad to take part in the Global Entrepreneurs Summit.
On Wednesday, KCR’s office released the new design.
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 CM 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. “There are some serious Vaastu problems in the existing secretariat. It had no proper ventilation, greenery and enough moving space. Hence, we have decided to shift it to the new premises,” Sudhakar Teja said.
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.
“It will be a six-storeyed building with two broad wings. While chambers for the CM, his cabinet colleagues and secretaries will be located on one side, all departments would be in the opposite wing. All the sections of the same department will be located at one place so that a person doesn’t have run from one building to another to get files cleared,” the consultant said.