Chennai, Oct 19 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Tamil Nadu government is considering the 13.22-acre Pallavan House campus as an alternative location for its proposed Secretariat and Assembly complex following sustained opposition from fishing communities to the Foreshore Estate site.
Government sources said the campus, which houses the headquarters of the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC), State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) and two MTC depots, was among the locations being examined.
No final decision has been taken, and an announcement is expected within a week.
Officials said the government-owned property offers advantages, including avoiding land acquisition and residential displacement. Its accessibility through bus services, suburban trains and Metro Rail could also benefit Secretariat employees and members of the public visiting government offices.
The location is close to the Omandurar Government Estate, where an earlier DMK government constructed a Secretariat and Assembly complex that was subsequently converted into a hospital.
If Pallavan House is selected, the transport corporations’ headquarters and existing depot facilities would require relocation. Officials said the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus at Koyambedu could be considered for the headquarters, allowing transport administrators to oversee bus operations from the same premises.
Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay had announced in the Assembly that the government would construct a new Secretariat and Assembly complex at Foreshore Estate for Rs 1,200 crore, with a built-up area of 20 lakh square feet. The announcement triggered protests by fishing communities concerned about the proposed location.
Opposition parties and Left parties, including the CPI and CPI(M), subsequently backed their resistance, increasing pressure on the TVK-led government to reconsider the site.
Tamil Nadu’s attempts to establish a new administrative headquarters have repeatedly encountered political and public opposition. In 2003, then Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa proposed constructing a Secretariat on the Queen Mary’s College campus. Student protests, alongside political and legal opposition, forced the government to abandon the proposal.
An alternative site at Kotturpuram was explored in 2004, but did not materialise. The DMK government, headed by M. Karunanidhi, later built the Omandurar Secretariat and Assembly complex on Anna Salai. Inaugurated in March 2010, it served as the administrative headquarters only briefly. After returning to power, Jayalalithaa shifted the Secretariat and Assembly back to Fort St. George. The Omandurar complex, constructed at a cost exceeding Rs 1,000 crore, was subsequently converted into a government hospital, ending its brief administrative role.
Source: IANS
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