Cong, BJP critical of TRS govt's plan to build new Secretariat

Taking a critical view of the TRS government's move to construct new Secretariat and Assembly buildings, the opposition Congress and BJP in Telangana Monday said government should get its priorities right as there were more pressing issues.

The TRS, however, said the new buildings would be constructed in a way that they are useful to the people and reflected the new state's pride after its formation.

"Why new Secretariat for a Chief Minister who does not come to Secretariat? How many times you have come to Secretariat in five years.

We are questioning why you need a new Secretariat with Rs 100 crore or Rs 400 crore," state BJP president K Laxman said, addressing a gathering at the party office here.

The state has got excellent Secretariat and Assembly buildings and the TRS government can correct if there are "Vastu defects" but it should not demolish the existing buildings to build new ones at a cost of Rs 500 crore, he claimed.

The TRS government would face the wrath of the poor if new buildings are built at a cost of Rs 500 crore after demolishing existing ones, Laxman said.

The BJP would step up its stir with the demand that the government fill "three lakh jobs in government", he said.

Congress MLC T Jeevan Reddy said the existing Secretariat buildings were built about 20-30 years ago and they are expected to survive a total of 100 years.

The new buildings were being constructed to get the credit for having built them during the TRS regime, he claimed.

Dismissing the opposition criticism, ruling TRS MLC Palla Rajeshwar Reddy said the government decides what is good for people as people gave mandate to the party.

The opposition had filed cases in courts against Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project (inaugurated last week) but the endeavour now was to provide irrigation facility to one crore acres in the state, he said.

"These (buildings) also, we will definitely build in a way that is useful to people following the formation of separate Telangana and reflected the Telangana's pride. (We) will remove which are not necessary and build new (ones)," he told PTI.

The state governnment has recently announced plans to construct new Secretariat and Assembly buildings in view of "inconvenience" in existing ones.