Depts exit from Writers’ to make it less congested

THE Writers’ Buildings,the oldest secretariat building of India that housed all the 45-odd departments of the West Bengal government since Independence,will now house only half a dozen departments with a section of the 246-year-old red building may be converted into a museum.

In the recent years,many departments have been shifted out of the Writers’ one by one. In the Left Front rule,departments like health,education and commerce & industries were moved out of the building. Since the Trinamool Congress came to power in the state two years ago,seven more departments — Forests,Fisheries,Environment,Child and Social Welfare,Paschimanchal Unnayan Affairs,Transport,and Police Directorate of the Home Department were shifted out of the British-era building. Shortly,some more departments are likely to join the exodus list,such as Animal Resource Development,Agriculture & Agriculture Marketing,Self Help Group,Public Enterprise & Industrial Reconstruction and PWD. The exit of these departments from the Writers’ would free about 3.5 lakh square metre space,and the number of office staff coming to the secretariat building would drop by nearly 3,000. “As of now,the decongestion is being done for two things,providing fire safety and making space,’’ Indevar Pandey,Principal Secretary,PWD,told The Indian Express.

Sources in PWD said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wants to retain only Home,Finance,Information & Culture,Agriculture and Minority Affairs & Madrasa Education departments at the Writers’. Interestingly,except for finance,all other departments are headed by her.

PWD sources also said that the Chief Minister plans to convert a part of the Writers’,which is a heritage building,into a museum. After becoming the CM,Mamata had planned to construct a building just opposite the Writers’,by the side of Laldighi,but after the environmentalists raised a hue and cry,she junked the idea. “We have some plans for the Writers’,but at present I don’t want to disclose them. A model code of conduct for the panchayat elections is in force and for this I reserve my comment,’’ PWD Minister Sudarshan Ghosh Dastidar said.