‘Administrative city’ takes shape in Jaya’s mind

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa today announced in the state Assembly that the government was considering a proposal to create a new ‘‘administrative city’’ on a 2000-acre plot on the way to Mahabalipuram. The proposed city will have a separate Secretariat building, Legislative Assembly complex, offices for senior government officials, quarters for officers and a hostel for MLAs. Jayalalithaa said that there was severe space constraint in the existing Secretariat complex. Moreover, one-third of the premises belongs to the Army, she added. The Chief Minister, however, did not give details of the new project or where exactly it would be located.

Earlier, Congress MLA D. Yashodha suggested that the state government shift the Secretariat to another area as the Fort St George, where the Secretariat functions from, belongs to the Defence Ministry. Even for small repairs, the ministry’s permission had to be sought, she said adding that the government should have a secretariat building built on its own land.