The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Shifting of highways' offices begins

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jul 04, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Shifting of highways' offices begins

By A. Subramani

CHENNAI, JULY 3. In the clearest indication yet of the proposed new Secretariat complex at Kotturpuram here, the process of shifting some of the Highways Research Station (HRS) offices to a new premises at Guindy began today.

This follows a Government direction asking the Station authorities to vacate the premises by July 3-4, according to sources.

The department staff overseeing the exercise at the Kotturpuram HRS campus today said transporting of props and files to the Tamil Nadu Agro Industries Corporation complex in Guindy Industrial Estate would be completed within a week.

They, however, could not confirm if similar notices were served on the main building of the Station as well.

Today, considerable activity was noticed on the Tamil Nadu Agro Industries campus, with the staff there maintaining that henceforth the Corporation was likely to function from another building belonging to the department a little distance away.

The other structures identified for shifting/demolition include the Anna University Hostel buildings and the Government Data Centre.

A little over a month after reports that the project had been shelved, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) had called for applications in the last week of June to empanel principal contractors for the complex.

CMDA stipulation

The June 28 CMDA notification had stipulated that the `state-of-the-art' complex and ancillary buildings would be completed in a fast track mode in 18 months.

The complex must be ready for use with all services and amenities available by then, it added.

The proposed ground-plus-five-floor structure will come up on 43 acres and will have a constructed area of two million square feet.

Last year, a meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary had decided that the HRS and other offices would shift to the TAI complex at Guindy by November 1.

However, it did not take place.

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