Citing lack of space at the current location,the state government has decided to construct a new,separate building for Chief Ministers Office,outside secretariat,at a cost of Rs 339 crore. At present,the CMO is housed on the fifth floor of Lal Bahadur Shastri Bhawan,commonly known as Sachivalaya Annexxe. Officials say the existing location lacks space to accommodate all sections of the CMs office and also has parking issues with visitors parking their vehicles on the road. The new building,constructed in an area of more than 16,000 square feet opposite Vidhan Sabha,will be a replica of the Assembly building. A huge dome similar to the Assembly building will be constructed on top of the new building. Both the Assembly building and CMO will be synchronised to get that aesthetic look, an engineer said. The published tenders are likely to be finalised within 15 days and the new office will be ready within 24 months. Although the estimated cost stands at Rs 339 crore,engineers with the Uttar Pradesh Rajkiya Nirman Nigam (UPRNN) claim it will be revised as the estimation was done in 2011. The new building will house three blocks. Block A will have the security section while block B will house the chief ministers office on the fifth floor to keep the nomenclature of pancham tal intact. The other floors will have offices of the CMs secretaries,principal secretaries,and other office staff,besides a huge meeting hall along with a separate auditorium with a capacity of 500. Block C with seven floors will include most of the offices of secretariat and their sections to remove the clutter and haphazard allotment of offices in the existing secretariat. Several existing buildings on the site,including a power sub station and residential quarters,will soon be razed. However,two graves and a temple on the campus will be kept and beautified.
