Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised defence-owned Bison Polo ground in Secunderabad for the construction of State Secretariat.
It will not just be Secretariat but the Assembly and Kala Bharati, a cultural centre, that were proposed by the State government on the 60 acre ground. The façade of the existing Assembly which was constructed by Nizam was proposed to be replicated in the new premises, he told a press conference. Mr. Rao said the State government had no intention to take over Gymkhana ground which was adjacent to Bison Polo ground though it was also a defence land. The fourteen acres of Gymkhana ground and nine other acres of land in possession of Sports Authority of Telangana State were leased out by defence.
He wondered if all the 500 odd play grounds that existed in Hyderabad were put to proper use going by the hue and cry raised by Opposition that the government was trying to destroy sports in State. He took the example of events other than sports that took place in Gachibowli stadium in support of his claim that the existing sports infrastructure were hardly used properly. Mr. Rao said the government had sought Bison Polo ground and other defence lands at Medchal and Bowenpally for the construction of express highway from Paradise junction to a connecting point of ORRd en route.