CHENNAI: A new integrated complex housing the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and Secretariat will be constructed in Chennai at an estimated cost of Rs 1,200 crore, Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay said in the Assembly on Thursday.The complex will cover 2 million square feet and is planned to meet the administrative requirements of the state for the next 100 years. However, the government has not yet revealed the location of the proposed Secretariat complex.Making the announcement under Rule 110, Vijay said his government would develop the complex with modern facilities to bring government departments together on a single administrative campus.The complex will include firefighting facilities, accessibility features for people with disabilities and green-building standards, along with adequate parking, conference halls and public service centres.Vijay also highlighted the heritage of Fort St George, which was built by the East India Company between 1640 and 1644 and has served as the administrative centre of the Tamil Nadu government since Independence.The historic complex covers about 107 acres, but the state government controls only around four acres for Secretariat use. The remaining land is under the control of the Defence Ministry and the Archaeological Survey of India, limiting expansion and development.The Secretariat currently operates from two buildings. The main building at Fort St George houses the Legislative Assembly, offices of the chief minister, Cabinet and Chief Secretary, the Finance Department and other departments.Namakkal Kavignar Maligai, constructed in 1978, has a ground floor and 10 floors. It provides office space for government secretaries, officers and more than 6,000 employees from over 30 departments.The government said the number of employees and administrative responsibilities had increased significantly over the past four decades, while the existing buildings had remained largely unchanged.A Secretariat complex constructed at Omandurar Government Estate was later converted into a multi-purpose hospital and medical college.The proposed complex is expected to provide modern administrative infrastructure and meet the expanding requirements of the state government.The government also said the heritage buildings at Fort St George would be preserved as historical monuments to protect their heritage value for future generations.The project aims to improve administrative efficiency while retaining Fort St George as an important part of Tamil Nadu’s administrative history and heritage.
