The Telangana high court on Tuesday cleared the decks for the state government to go ahead with construction of a new Secretariat complex with ultramodern facilities, and perfect Vaastu, in the Bison Polo grounds at Secunderabad.

A division bench of the high court, hearing a batch of petitions opposing the transfer of the Bison Polo Grounds, a sport facility belonging to the Union ministry of Defence, issued an interim order asking the Centre to go ahead with the official procedure in transfer of land to the state government.

The court posted the matter to February 12 for further hearing. The Telangana government already submitted an affidavit to the court stating that the Centre had agreed in principle to transfer 55 acres of land to the state for construction of Secretariat complex, besides the state assembly and other official buildings.

The government has offered an alternative piece of land to the ministry of defence on the city outskirts in lieu of the transfer of Bison Polo Grounds, besides paying monetary compensation as per the norms.

During the previous tenure, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi government headed by chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had taken the decision to construct a new secretariat complex at the 55-acre Bison Polo grounds adjacent to Secunderabad parade grounds, since he believed that the existing Secretariat was too congested and was against the Vaastu (ancient study of architecture).

In fact, during his entire tenure between 2014 and 2018, KCR had not gone to the existing Secretariat as he had felt something was wrong with its architecture. He ran his administration from his new official-cum-residential complex Pragathi Bhavan in Begumpet.

Even cabinet meetings and other official review meetings were held at Pragati Bhavan, a practice which he is continuing even after returning to power after the December 7 elections.

KCR’s official Vaastu consultant Suddala Sudhakar Teja said there were some serious Vaastu problems in the existing Secretariat, as it lacked proper ventilation.

“An administrative building should have flow of natural energy from all sides, greenery and enough moving space. A healthy and good working environment will help the ruler in proper decision making,” he advised.

During a discussion in the state assembly last year, opposition members resisted the move to abandon the existing secretariat and construct a new one at Bison Polo grounds, but KCR was firm in his stand. He also announced that his government would also construct a new assembly building and a cultural centre at the new venue.

“The existing Secretariat and assembly buildings have become congested and outlived their utility. We need structures that sustain for another 100 years,” he argued.

First Published: Jan 29, 2019 19:18 IST