Build 1,000-acre administrative city outside Chennai: NDA ally Ramadoss to Vijay
PMK chief Anbumani Ramadoss has opposed the Vijay government's plan for a new Secretariat at Pattinapakkam. He says a larger administrative city outside Chennai would avoid congestion and meet long-term needs.
PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss on Wednesday urged the Tamil Nadu government to drop its reported plan to build a new Secretariat complex at Pattinapakkam in Chennai. Instead, he called for an integrated administrative city spread across 500 to 1,000 acres outside the state capital to meet the government’s needs for the next 100 years.
In a statement, Anbumani said a modern Secretariat was needed, but argued that locating it at Pattinapakkam would create serious traffic and space problems. He said the government should look at a larger, self-contained site rather than a limited urban plot.
Reacting to media reports, he said the proposed Rs 1,200 crore Secretariat and Legislative Assembly complex, measuring 20 lakh square feet and announced by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, was likely to come up on a 26.36-acre parcel in Pattinapakkam. He described the move as “shortsighted”.
“While the need for a modern Secretariat in Tamil Nadu is beyond dispute, establishing it at Pattinapakkam will cause more harm than good,” the PMK leader said.
He said Santhome High Road and Greenways Road were already under severe traffic pressure despite the construction of a loop road. Adding a large government complex near densely populated areas, major schools and the Santhome Church would choke traffic further, he warned.
Anbumani also said 26.36 acres would be far too small once mandatory FSI compliance, green space allocation, fire stations, emergency medical units, parking facilities and public transport links were taken into account. “Building it on a restricted plot will inevitably replicate the current space constraints within a few years,” he said.
Referring to Vijay’s stated vision that the new complex should serve the state’s needs for the next century, Anbumani said global and historical examples favoured shifting administrative hubs to dedicated greenfield locations. He urged the government to acquire at least 500 to 1,000 acres outside Chennai for a self-contained administrative city.
He said such a township should include the Secretariat, the Legislative Assembly, departmental headquarters, residences for the Chief Minister, ministers and civil servants, along with Metro connectivity, helipads, schools, colleges, sports arenas and commercial complexes. In his statement, Anbumani reiterated that Tamil Nadu needed a modern Secretariat, but said it should be built in a larger administrative city outside Chennai rather than at Pattinapakkam.