A feeling of deja vu sets in as one enters the Secretariat complex these days. Ever since the bifurcation of the combined Andhra Pradesh State, if there is one thing that is constant at the Secretariat complex, it is the shifting process.
After spending crores of public money to refurbish the chambers of ministers, peshis and secretaries and even some departments like Finance only recently, it is time to pack up, yet again.
First it was division of Secretariat blocks between the successor States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as AP had no capital city to move to straight away.
Five blocks of the Secretariat — South and North blocks of H, J. K and L were allotted to AP. That was when the elaborate and time consuming process of division of files and furniture pertaining to both the States and moving them to respective Secretariats blocks commenced.
The TDP government headed by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu spruced up the buildings allotted to AP Secretariat and had redone the interiors and taken up some constructions too for security purposes at the L block where the Chief Minister’s Office was located.
Liberally spent
Andhra Pradesh was allotted the blocks for a period not exceeding 10 years and thus the government of the day spent liberally to refurbish the buildings as well as the interiors as the then State Chief Minister planned to run the administration from the common capital of Hyderabad.
In the meantime, C block and other blocks of Telangana Secretariat were renovated and a brand new entrance was also erected for the Telangana Secretariat. But then Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao chose to function from his camp office in Green Lands and subsequently a sprawling Pragathi Bhavan came up after taking over IAS Officers Association building and the adjoining land to make Chief Minister’s residence-cum-camp office Vastu compliant.
Two years later, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister had a change of mind and decided to shift the Secretariat to Velagapudi as he had decided to take his administration close to the people of his State.
Many had seen it as a fall out of ‘Note for Vote’ scandal as it was alleged that the Telugu Desam Party tried to influence a nominated MLA for his vote in the elections to Telangana Legislative Council and the video footage was all over the media channels.
Velagapudi shift
Thus in 2016 it was another major exercise as the AP ministers and departments shifted to Velagapudi and furniture, files and computer systems were moved out.
However, AP government retained the Secretariat blocks allotted to it and skeletal staff continued to work from Hyderabad. By then, sources said, at least ₹50 crore had been spent on Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister’s Office with all the facilities befitting the office of a Chief Minister and nearly double the amount has been spent by the Telangana government in the last five years on the existing Secretariat blocks.
Now with the handing over of AP’s Secretariat blocks and Chief Minister K.Chandrasehar Rao’s decision to construct a brand new complex covering the entire Secretariat land at the State’s disposal, it is time to shift again for the departments in Telangana Secretariat.