Demolition work of historic secretariat building in Telangana begins

The move comes days after the Telangana High Court dismissed a batch of PILs challenging the TRS government's decision to construct the new complex after demolishing the existing structures, which included a Nizam's era building, in the heart of the city. "The demolition of the secretariat building began during wee hours of Tuesday and it will go on today.

The K Chandrashekhar Rao-led dispensation in Telangana on Tuesday began razing the old secretariat building here, which has stood the test of time and witnessed the rise and fall of several governments, to construct a new complex. The move comes days after the Telangana High Court dismissed a batch of PILs challenging the TRS government's decision to construct the new complex after demolishing the existing structures, which included a Nizam's era building, in the heart of the city.

"The demolition of the secretariat building began during wee hours of Tuesday and it will go on today. It will continue for a couple of days," official sources said. One of the structures in the complex, named as Sarvahita by then chief minister NT Rama Rao, was built in 1888 during the rule of Nizam VI Mir Mahaboob Ali Khan.

However the building could not get a heritage tag due to a variety of reasons. The latest addition to the complex was H-North and H-South Blocks in 2011. Opposition parties, including the Congress and BJP, slammed the state government for taking up the demolition work at a time when handling COVID-19 pandemic should be its immediate priority.

The ruling party, however, maintained that the demolition began after a stay on the matter was vacated by the High Court and that the state requires a well-planned secretariat. The entire area around the secretariat was cordoned off and barricades were placed on roads as the police diverted traffic in view of the demolition work.

The traffic regulations would continue for a few more days, police said. The chief minister's office on Tuesday released the elevation design of the proposed "integrated secretariat new building." and said Rao may approve it.

Rao had laid the foundation stone for the new administrative complex on June 27 last year. However, later some public interest litigations (PILs) were filed in the high court against the proposed new complex alleging it would be an unnecessary burden on the state's exchequer.

Earlier, the state government had indicated the new secretariat, which would come up in about four lakh sq-ft, would cost around Rs 400 crore and it had decided to equip the new building with state-of-the-art connectivity and other features. The new secretariat will be fully "Vaastu compliant", official sources had said earlier.

Rao rarely visited the Secretariat since he became the Chief Minister in 2014 and functioned from his official residence-cum-camp office with the opposition often accusing him of not visiting the Secretariat due to 'Vaastu' reasons. 'Vaastu shastra' is a traditional Hindu system of architecture and have guidelines believed to bring prosperity to the dweller of a building.

State Congress president N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Tuesday said several buildings in the existing complex were built eight years ago and they could have been used temporarily as a COVID-19 hospital. "We all (Congress leaders) served as ministers. Many buildings there are new. They were completed in 2012-13...," he told reporters.

The Congress leader claimed that adequate medical facilities, including beds and ventilators, are not available in hospitals in Hyderabad. Senior Congress leader and MLA T Jeevan Reddy claimed Rao was demolishing the existing secretariat building as he was 'obsessed' with Vaastu.

Telangana people will not pardon the chief minister for his mistakes, Jeevan Reddy said. State BJP president and Lok Sabha member Bandi Sanjay Kumar alleged the TRS government's actions reminded them of "a Nero, a Tughlak".

Chief Minister Rao was making plans for demolition of the secretariat and designing contracts at a time when people were facing enormous difficulties due to the spread of COVID-19. Telangana BJP chief spokesperson K Krishna Saagar Rao in a statement said the party strongly protests the 'atrocious action' of the TRS government in demolishing the old secretariat buildings for "false prestige" of the CM in the midst of a global pandemic crisis.

"While CMs across the country are busy building infrastructure to accommodate COVID-19 patients, unfortunately Telangana has a Chief Minister, who is busy demolishing the existing infrastructure, which can easily be turned into a massive facility to accommodate thousands of COVID-19 patients," he said. Reacting to the charges, former TRS MP B Vinod Kumar said though pandemic is an issue, the demolition of the secretariat buildings began as the stay order had been vacated.

Construction activity (in the state) has not stopped. The NDA government was going ahead with the central vista project in Delhi, he said adding "They too started." He, however, maintained that 'Vastu' was not an issue and that the existing secretariat was built in a haphazard manner with ministers and concerned officials located at different places, making it difficult for coordination..