THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The General Administration Department and the Public Works Department are having issues over the proposal to have a multi-level car parking facility at Secretariat.
The design submitted by Anitha George, an assistant executive engineer attached to the electronics division of the Public Works Department, has been sidelined by the GAD and instead it has been given to a private architecture firm, Iyer and Mahesh.
Meanwhile, the Secretariat annex II would be launched on November 1 on Kerala formation day. It was Ms George who was instrumental in bringing 30 e-toilets for women, ‘Eves Own’ under the auspices of the gender budget in 2013.
The proposal submitted by the PWD to have multi-level car parking with more than 250 spaces at Secretariat was submitted more than a year ago. But the administrative sanction is still pending.
A top PWD official told DC that though it was the PWD which would be constructing the multi-level parking behind the Durbar, the concept design has been given to the private architectural firm.
“The whole project of multi-level parking at the Secretariat has been unduly delayed. It looks like Chief Secretary Jiji Thomson and GAD Secretary K. R. Jyothilal are not interested in awarding the work to the PWD”, said a PWD official.
Another PWD official told DC that the aesthetically designed plan has been altered which has hindered the heritage concept of Secretariat as the new design will look taller than the existing Secretariat.
Mr. Jyothilal confirmed to DC that the entire design has been finalized by Mahesh of Iyer and Mahesh Architects where five floors having 450 parking spaces would be coming up at the Secretariat.
“We have come up with the design seeing our future requirements as well. Architect Mahesh has done the design of the multi-level parking at Secretariat. Within a few days, a final decision will be taken”, said Jyothilal.
At the upcoming Secretariat annex II building, the officials claim that there would be 300 parking spaces.
