The Telangana High Court on Monday directed the state government to submit a detailed architectural design and plan along with an estimated budget, for the brand new Secretariat complex that the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has proposed to build.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice A Abhishek Reddy said that the court had earlier directed the state government to keep existing buildings intact without demolishing them, as the matter was subjudice. There were no restrictions as far as preparing the plan was concerned, the bench said.
Additional Advocate General J Ramachandra Rao told the court that the plans for the new complex were underway and would be ready soon.
Stating that it could not go ahead with the hearings which challenged the demolition of existing structures until the state government submitted detailed plans of the new complex, the court posted the matter for further hearing to February 12.
During a hearing earlier this month, the Telangana government had informed the Telangana High Court that it would require Rs 300-400 crore to build the new proposed secretariat and said that the construction could be completed over a 12-month period.
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had hinted last year, that a new Secretariat complex will be built at a cost of Rs 400 crore by demolishing the existing structures near the Hussain Sagar lake, while the Assembly building will be constructed by razing Errum Manzil, at a cost of Rs 100 crore.
The Telangana government had ordered bureaucrats and officials to shift to temporary offices nearby last year, with plans to demolish the existing buildings. KCR even laid the foundation stone on June 27, 2019, for the new complex.
However, both these moves were challenged in court as activists and critics argue that the move is arbitrary, while opposition parties like the Congress and the BJP point out that the existing structures in the Secretariat premises are still strong.