TRS not to budge from move on new buildings

Hyderabad: The state government which has taken the building of the new Secretariat and the Legislature complex as a prestige issue is preparing strong ground to put forth its case before the High Court to claim that the venture is essential for the new state to boost its prestige and image globally.

According to sources, the government has decided to place the reports submitted by engineering and fire safety experts before the judiciary to show that the old Secretariat and Assembly lack fire safety measures and are heavily congested. Many of them are separated by small passages and the interiors have poor ventilation.

Sources said that the authorities were trying to refute the claim of Opposition parties that some of the buildings which were constructed about five to 10 years ago have modern facilities.

According to the roads and buildings department, the A block of the Secretariat was constructed in 1998 and the B and C blocks in 1978.

The D block was built in 2003 and the North (H) and South (H) blocks in 2012.

The government is said to have decided to tell the High Court that none of the blocks were built in accordance with the National Building Code and green building norms. The blocks are scattered on the premises, causing problems to visitors, officials and ministers in moving between departments, and causing parking problems.

Sources said that the main buildings of the proposed new complex will be built on less than 10 acres of the 25-acre site and the rest of the area will be used to develop greenery on the premises with lawns, fountains and ample parking space.

Several petitioners have alleged before the High Court that the Secretariat was built during the unidivided AP years and was meant to cater to a much larger state. The undivided AP Assembly was more than twice the size of the TS House, they said.

Sources said that as far as Errum Manzil is concerned,  government plans to build its case before the court that it is not a heritage building and most of the structure is in a dilapidated condition. Sources revealed that the government will inform the court that the existing Assembly premises have also became congested for parking and risky with regard to security of VVIPs during the sessions.

While this is so, the BJP is preparing to stall the move of state government.

Sources in the BJP said that the party, besides building public protest against the move of government, has also decided to take legal recourse as a lot of public money is involved.

A BJP leader claimed that they will surely succeed in stalling the construction of the new buildings and save public money. They have been claiming that they had succeeded in convincing the Centre in not allocating the Bison Polo Ground for the new Secretariat.