Secretariat construction work caught in a rut
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, April 05 2012:
Even as the functioning of the newly constructed office complex of the Imphal bench of Gauhati High Court is slated to start from April 7, the construction work of Civil Secretariat building at Mantripukhri as a part of the Capitol Project has got caught in a rut, unable to move forward.
Talking to The Sangai Express, an official of the Public Works Department said that the construction work could not be accelerated due to the expansion of the structure.
Since no revised estimate of the cost has been sanctioned following the expansion of the size, the work could not progress.
The work agency for Capitol Project, Simplex Infrastructure Private Ltd has completed the construction of Assembly Secretariat and High Court Complex, which are parts of the Project.
It may be recalled that the last session of the 9th Assembly and first session of the 10th Legislative Assembly were held at the new Assembly Secretariat.
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Earlier, the work order amount for the construction of Civil Secretariat building at Mantripukhri was pegged Rs 285 crore.
It was after the Government took over the khasland, evacuated the dysfunctional cold storage, shifted the TB Hospital and removed the PWD store from the area that the Government came up with a new plan for the expansion of the Civil Secretariat building.
After the expansion plan of the structure, the work order amount is likely to increase to Rs 800 crore in the revised estimate.
Even with the revised estimate, the amount due to be paid to the work agency could be somewhere around Rs 317 crore.
The source said, in the long run, the plan of the Government to enlarge the structure has been taken up with an eye on the future.
For instance, the present Assembly Secretariat is not meant only for a 60-member House.
But it is also planned to accomodate all members in case the number of the members is eventually increased.
Likewise, there is a quandary on whether the Civil Secretariat should be built to accommodate the 12 in the Council of Ministers, as is the case now, or whether it should be built in such a way to accommodate more as and when the situation arises that expanding the strength of the Ministry becomes necessary.
As such, the construction work is unlikely to meet the 2014 deadline for completion as it is still not clear whether the structure should be expanded or not, the source said.