Submit plans, estimate for new Secretariat: HC

The High Court on Monday directed the government to submit the architectural plan, design and estimated budget of the proposed Secretariat complex by February 12.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice A. Abhishek Reddy gave the go-ahead to prepare the plan, draw up cost estimates with the help of expert agencies and to assess the required builtup space in the new complex.The Chief Justice said, “Nobody has ever prevented you from preparing the plan and design of the new Secretariat. Earlier, we had directed not to touch the existing buildings as the matter was sub judice with several petitions before the court alleging that the decision of demolition of existing buildings is unreasonable.”

The court said, “surprisingly the state is going ahead to construct the new secretariat complex without a design, plan and budget estimation. It brings the legality of your decision in question and is unreasonable.”

Additional AdvocateGeneral J. Ramachandra Rao said the government did not move on the matter after the earlier directions of the court. He said the plan and design were under preparation.

“How much money do you need to shell out to prepare the project design? It may be a meagre amount. Once the design is ready, the competition among the builders may bring down the cost of construction when compared to the state estimated budget of `400 crore,” the court said.

The court made it clear that there was no possibility of going ahead with the petitions against the Secretariat demolition without having the new design and other details of the proposed complex.