Chennai, Sept 3:
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Thursday announced in the Assembly that a new integrated complex housing the Legislative Assembly and Secretariat would be constructed in Chennai at an estimated cost of ₹1,200 crore, marking the third major attempt in two decades to relocate the State’s administrative headquarters from the congested Fort St George campus.
The proposed complex will spread across 20 lakh sq ft and will be equipped with modern administrative and legislative facilities. Making the announcement under Rule 110, Vijay said the new campus would incorporate fire-safety systems, facilities for persons with disabilities and green-building standards.
The complex will also have adequate parking facilities, conference halls, public service centres and modern amenities for government employees. The government proposes to bring all departments under one integrated administrative campus to improve coordination and administrative efficiency.
A plan with a long history
The proposed shift has a long and complicated history. The first major attempt came in 2003, when then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa announced in the Assembly on January 31 that Queen Mary’s College in Chennai would be demolished to make way for a new Secretariat complex. The proposal, however, triggered strong protests from students and was eventually dropped.
The idea was revived by M Karunanidhi, who went ahead with the construction of a new Assembly and Secretariat complex at the Omandurar Government Estate towards the end of his tenure. The project was completed at a cost running into more than ₹1,000 crore.
However, the Omandurar complex had a short political life. After Jayalalithaa returned to power in 2011, her government shifted the Assembly and Secretariat back to Fort St George. The Omandurar building was subsequently converted into the Tamil Nadu Government Multi Super Speciality Hospital.
The Vijay government’s announcement therefore represents the third attempt to establish a new permanent home for the State legislature and Secretariat.
Fort St George faces space constraints
The demand for a new Secretariat has largely been driven by the severe space constraints at the historic Fort St George campus. The complex, which has served as the seat of Tamil Nadu’s government for decades, has limited space for offices, officials, visitors, vehicles and modern administrative infrastructure.
The government had been examining alternative locations in Chennai even before Thursday’s announcement. Earlier reports had identified locations including Pattinapakkam, Nandambakkam and government land in Guindy, among other possibilities. The exact site for the new complex is yet to be finalised.
The proposed project is expected to address not merely the shortage of office space but also the need for a modern administrative ecosystem where departments can function in closer coordination.
CMO shift already under way
Meanwhile, the government is separately preparing to shift the Chief Minister’s Office from its present location at Fort St George to the 10th floor of Namakkal Kavignar Maligai. The move is expected to provide more space and better facilities for the Chief Minister’s staff and officials.
Public Works Minister Aadhav Arjuna had earlier said the proposed shift was aimed at providing adequate working space for officials and staff, noting that several officials currently work out of very small rooms and that more than 80 people function around the Chief Minister’s office.
The relocation has also raised concerns about space for Secretariat staff working in offices adjoining the proposed CMO. Consequently, the shifting of some offices has been deferred, with officials indicating that offices closest to the CMO would instead be accommodated elsewhere within the existing Secretariat complex.
Big-ticket administrative project
The ₹1,200-crore proposal now puts the focus on site selection, design, funding and implementation. Unlike the earlier attempts, the government has proposed an integrated complex combining the Assembly and the entire Secretariat, with modern facilities for lawmakers, ministers, officials and the public.
The project, if implemented, would mark a major change in the administrative landscape of Chennai and end the long-standing dependence on the historic Fort St George campus for the State’s legislative and executive functions.
The announcement also revives a question that has remained unresolved for more than two decades: Can Tamil Nadu finally build and sustain a new permanent seat of government?