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Denying any polit ical bias, chief minister Jayalalithaa on Friday justified her decision to function from Fort St. George instead of the new Secretariat constructed by the previous DMK regime on Omandurar government estate.

In a statement, Ms Jayalalithaa said the Secretariat was shifted to the fort for administrative convenience. “Some people have expressed the opinion that I chose to shift the Secretariat to Fort St.George only because the new building was constructed by the DMK,” she said, and asserted that neutral observers knew she never acted out of political animosity.

Recollecting the obstacles created by then Union environment minister T.R.

Baalu, at the behest of DMK patriarch Karunanidhi when, as CM, she took initiatives to build a new Secretariat, Ms Jayalalithaa insisted that she was never against the construction by the DMK. However, the new building was ‘incomplete’ and she chose not to function from there only because it would hinder administration.

After wasting crores for a rushed inauguration, she wondered why all departments were not shifted to the new building. Mr Karunanidhi feared that people would dethrone him and, hence, he hastily decided to work from the incomplete building, she criticised.

But only six of the 36 departments were shifted.

“Would it be possible to run the government machinery efficiently with six departments in the new building and another 30 in Fort St. George?” she asked.

Stating that all departments could be shifted only if the second block was completed, she pointed out that it would take at least a year for that. She also sought to know from the people if the government could function effectively if a distance of 2 km divided the ministers at the new building and secretaries in the fort.


Credit: DC Chennai