Stalin and Hemant Soren to be present for Telangana Secretariat inauguration

The nearly-completed new Secretariat building in Hyderabad is set to be inaugurated on February 17 by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR). Roads and Buildings Minister Vemula Prashant Reddy said that KCR will inaugurate the Dr BR Ambedkar Telangana Secretariat building between 11.30 am and 12.30 pm and that several rituals will be performed before the inauguration in the presence of Vedic scholars. The day also happens to be KCR’s birthday.

The inauguration is expected to be attended by Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Bihar Dy CM Tejashwi Yadav, Janata Dal (United) national president Lalan Singh and BR Ambedkar's grandson Prakash Ambedkar, among others. 

The building's foundation stone was laid in 2019, and the old Secretariat was entirely demolished in 2020. Environmentalists and heritage activists opposed the proposal, arguing that existing buildings should be repaired instead. The work was delayed due to pending court cases and the COVID-19 pandemic.

In September 2022, KCR announced that they would honour Ambedkar by naming the new building after him. According to reports, the complex will have a built-up area of more than seven lakh square feet over seven floors and cost more than Rs 600 crore to build. Nearly 90% of the work is completed and will be finished by the end of this month.