Bullet-proof windows for CMO, sky lounge & 635 rooms – why Telangana’s new Secretariat is so grand

Bullet-proof windows for CMO, sky lounge & 635 rooms – why Telangana’s new Secretariat is so grand

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) Sunday ushered in the state's new Secretariat in Hyderabad-- a towering "Vaastu-compliant" structure that was the CM's pet project.

Situated in the heart of Hyderabad near Hussain Sagar Lake, the new Secretariat has bullet-proof home windows in KCR's workplace, a royal dining-room as well as an elite sky lounge with glass wall surfaces that supply a bird's-eye view of the city, consisting of the renowned Nizam-era water body.

Styled with Indo-Saracenic or Neo-Mughal design features, the Secretariat has actually been named after BR Ambedkar whose 125-feet bronze statuary stands near the brand-new structure, as well as which KCR had inaugurated on the latter's 132nd birth wedding anniversary previously this month.

Recognized to be certain regarding adhering to "advantageous timings", the CM picked the duration between 1.20 pm and 1.40 pm Sunday to enter his chamber in the Secretariat, which was inaugurated amid routines and also yagnas with clergymans chanting mantras.

The priests chanted rules as the chief minister beinged in his chair at the office. And one of the initial documents that he checked in the new Secretariat was the implementation of his system Dalit Bandhu for 2023-2024, which would give Rs 10 lakh assistance to eligible Dalit family members.

" Dr BR Ambedkar's message for the advancement of all sections is a large inspiration to the state government. We battled in harmony by complying with the Gandhian ideology and accomplished a separate Telangana state. The designer of the Indian Constitution, Dr B.R. Ambedkar's vision of enshrining Short article 3 in the Constitution aided the production of Telangana," the chief minister said after the commencement.

The Dr B.R. Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat comprises eight floorings (lower ground, first stage plus six) with the Chief Minister's Workplace (CMO) at the top and also the sky lounge above it.

" The vast structure has 24 elevators and 635 areas, and also 30 conference halls. Spread over 2.25 acres, the structure has the capacity to suit 564 car parking. The total location where the centre has the building is 27.9 acres," a statement from the CMO review Saturday. It included that the structure's design was motivated by Kakatiya architecture and also temples in Telangana and Gujarat.

An authorities from the state engineering division told ThePrint that the "job cost concerning Rs 1,000 crore", though the CMO mentioned that "Rs 550 crore had actually been spent on the building up until now" and "the expense had increased 30 percent" than what was first estimated.

Discussing the structure, the authorities added: "The skies lounge was made to hold the chief minister's visitors (mainly government officials and also international delegates) as well as give them a bird's-eye view of the city. The CMO on the 6th floor has bullet-proof home windows as well as additionally the cabinet space where the CM will certainly convene with preachers."

An additional essential destination in the new structure is the dining room which can seat 22. It consists of white and also golden insides, a glittering tiled flooring, chandeliers and a big wooden dining table between with KCR's photo dangling on one wall.

Telangana's brand-new Secretariat has actually shown up in place of the old Secretariat, a Nizam-era structure that was taken down in July 2020.

" The brand-new structure is not practically the lush centers," chief engineer Ganpathi Reddy from the state's roads and structures division told ThePrint. "The earlier building was not fire safety certified, and also plumbing lines as well as electrical installations had actually come to be old. In addition, if a minister's office was in a specific block, his staff office would remain in another block. There was a lot of walking involved and also personal product was likewise taken similarly. All this was an inconvenience."

The main gateway of the new secretariat is referred to as the 'Bahubali Mahadwara,' which is 24 feet high and also constructed from teakwood. All the doors in the complicated are made from teakwood, an authorities from CMO claimed.

A total of 34 domes are in the building, with 2 big major ones. On both major domes, the national symbol has actually been installed.

At the same time, taking objection to the framework of the secretariat, BJP State Principal and MP Bandi Sanjay informed the media persons Sunday that it appears that the Secreteriat was constructed to please AIMIM chief as well as Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi and also a particular area of people. He also explained how the mosque, inside the Secretariat, was built on a bigger location, in contrast to the holy place.

Prominent Chennai-based architects Oscar and Ponni have actually created the new Secretariat

In a written reply to ThePrint over mail the company stated that there were "several discussions" with the CM before finalising every part of the building, and also these talks included the "concepts of vaastu".

"The idea of the brand-new structure is based upon vaastu. Architects Ponni as well as Oscar had several days of conversations, one-to-one interactions as well as a design workshop with the centimeters at his office. He reviewed carefully the master planning, vaastu principles, site-grading, and floor-by-floor zoning of the different components of the Secretariat," according to the interaction from the group.

"We needed to plan and make several spatial parts and the exteriors of the Secretariat and we needed to review with the upgraded drawings and also numerous options on a daily basis (with the CM) for practically two weeks," the communication specified, adding that KCR invested several hours with the team finalising complex factors of style and also interior designing.

According to the layout group, "the distribution of entries, cores, solution cores as well as commodes is all according to Vaastu Shastra".

They additionally said that "among the requirements that KCR gave to the design team was that the new Secretariat has to last a minimum of 150 years".

The external landscape has actually been designed with native trees of Telangana and also water fountains. White colour has been made use of for the Secretariat as it shows pureness, clean slates as well as stability, Oscar and also Ponni's team even more stated.

The KCR government is touting the 265-foot Secretariat as the tallest building in the city, taller than the renowned Charminar and even Delhi's Qutub Minar.

Telangana's roads and buildings preacher Vemula Prashant Reddy had recently claimed the Secretariat was "bigger than the Central View Parliament building (in New Delhi) which inhabits only 7 lakh square feet while Telangana Secretariat has 10.50 lakh square feet space".

Why a brand-new Secretariat.

The suggestion of a brand-new Secretariat was first proposed by the KCR government in 2017 and drew much reaction from resistance events in addition to residents in the state. Pleas versus the demolition of the old structure were submitted in the Telangana High Court.

The brand-new structure was initially estimated to cost Rs 400 crore-- a number which soared to Rs 617 crore by 2020. The amount was formally sanctioned that year as well as in July, Telangana's old Secretariat was destroyed after the court gave the go-ahead.

Amid the demolition, Congress leader Revanth Reddy filed a plea in the National Green Tribunal alleging that the demolition would certainly pollute Hussain Sagar Lake. However the tribunal as well offered the green signal for the demolition.

"Some 'Political Lilliputs' (enemies) developed obstacles to the construction of the new secretariat by knocking down the old structure at the same location. The federal government did not take significant note and also moved forward as well as constructed the state secretariat, which is one of a few terrific federal government frameworks in the country," KCR stated on Sunday.

Describing why the chief minister had actually made a decision to opt for a new Secretariat, the Telangana CMO specified Saturday that it was due to "constant roof covering top collapses, power short circuit troubles, lack of room for a great canteen with all facilities, shortage of vehicle parking facilities, administrative troubles and also lack of sychronisation in between divisions" in the old building.

Ganpathi Reddy informed ThePrint that more than 4,000 individuals worked for over two years to construct the new palace-like structure, which can accommodate over 2,000 individuals-- ministers, secretaries, division authorities and so on.

The new complicated, like the old one, suits a holy place, mosque as well as church. There is also a station house, creche and also dispensary in the complementary buildings, he stated.

"The CM wanted the staff to have a much better work area. Currently, each priest as well as his personnel have been put on the very same flooring. We have appropriate car parking and area for car motion, as well as a police security block suiting 300 employees," Reddy included.

While the new Secretariat is Hyderabad's latest destination, some miss out on the old building which had a "simpleness and also genuineness".

"The old Secretariat just continues to be a memory now. The CMO, especially in the 1970s, was so simple. The entire ambience depicted sincerity. All that has actually transformed currently, and it is a lush brand-new framework," a retired Secretariat worker, who did not wish to be named, told ThePrint.