By George! Jayalalithaa gets MLA Karuna back to the Fort

AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa’s fourth spell as chief minister began on a controversial note with the her decision to shift the secretariat and assembly complex to Fort Saint George, the 17th century structure which was the administrative and legislative headquarters of Tamil Nadu till last year.

The new secretariat was built by the previous Karunanidhi government at an exorbitant cost of Rs1,200 crore. Designed by GMP von Gerken, Berlin-based architects, the imposing structure was inaugurated by prime minister Manmohan Singh on March 13, 2010, even before the works were completed.

Since the dome atop the secretariat remained unfinished, Karunanidhi hired the services of art director Thotta Tharini to have a cinema style artificial dome at a cost of Rs2 crore.

Jayalalithaa had criticised the DMK government’s move to build a new secretariat when Tamil Nadu was undergoing a severe financial crisis. But Karunanidhi took up the project as a prestige issue, and ensured the shifting of the secretariat and assembly to the new building.

The AIADMK leader did not step into the precincts of the new secretariat even once and said the building reminded one of the ‘cap of a Puducherry policeman’.

According to the architects, the new secretariat had blended futuristic design elements with traditional motifs. It is the tallest building in the city limits and had spacious office rooms for all registered political parties with representation in the assembly.

“That is a wrong claim. The building looks more like an oil-tanker and it does not have any aesthetics associated with it,” said Cho Ramaswamy, writer and political commentator.

He said Jayalalithaa has corrected a wrong action done by the previous regime. “So far nobody has given an answer to the question as to what was the need for a new secretariat when you have an elegant structure resembling Tamil tradition as secretariat. Moreover what was the reason to shift the assembly to an incomplete structure?” Cho asked.

Though there are allegations that Jayalalithaa has dumped the new secretariat because it was built under the supervision of Karunanidhi, an AIADMK leader rubbished such comments. “If that is the case, Amma would have demolished all buildings and roads built during the previous regime. She had made it known earlier that the new secretariat is sheer waste,” said the functionary who did not want his name to be quoted.
Jayalalithaa’s decision has also put smaller parties out in the lurch.

Except for AIADMK, DMK and DMDK no other parties would have any office rooms in the old complex.

PMK an ally of DMK and Vaiko’s MDMK, friend-turned-foe of Jayalalithaa have asked her not to shift the secretariat and assembly from the new building. A lawyer has already approached the Madras high court with a request for directing the AIADMK government to desist from the move.

The Tamil classical library which has been functioning from the old assembly hall has been shifted to the new building on Saturday night itself. “Do not jump at conclusions. The new secretariat, once completed, could house a number of government offices and we can also lease it out to corporates,” the AIADMK leader said.