Auspicious Season begins; shifting of Sectt may begin soon

Mohammad Hussain

siasat.com

Hyderabad: With Sravana Masam, considered the most auspicious season for launching new ventures, is in the vogue since August 2, the state government has directed all departments to get ready to vacate the Secretariat buildings.

Sravana Masam ends on August 30.

The government has also decided to allocate Rs.50,000 to each department towards expenditure for shifting the offices. It is a different matter that officials are not happy with Burgula Rama Krishna Rao Bhavan (BRKR) premises as the facilities there are not adequate. The General Administration Department (GAD) has already allotted rooms in the Bhavan to the departments. The nodal officers concerned are seized of the matter. The GAD has suggested that officials of the departments concerned should get help from engineers for ensuring facilities in the allotted rooms.

The Secretariat has 32 departments and needs Rs.16 lakh to Rs.30 lakh for shifting.

According to sources, the Finance Department has suggested that GAD should make sure that the total expenditure towards shifting of offices does not cross Rs.1 crore, considering that the financial position of the state is not good. The departments may use the services of ‘Packers and Movers’ to shift the offices to BRKR Bhavan.

The Finance Department may reject a proposal made for purchasing new equipment to install servers and other new equipment as it could cost more than Rs.17 crore. The GAD may suggest the IT Department to use existing technology, instead of purchasing new equipment.

However, it all depends on the technology available at BRKR Bhavan. Some of the senior officials are not happy with the rooms allotted at BRKR Bhavan.

“The higher officials may not have ante-rooms in BRKR Bhavan. The officials have to face this new problem till the new Secretariat is constructed”, one of the officials who visited BRKR Bhavan told siasat.com.

The government has not yet taken any decision on shifting CMO and GAD. Some officials are suggesting that the government should shift these two offices to Metro Rail office located at Rasoolpura, Begumpet. Other officers want these offices at BRKR Bhavan. Nothing has been decided about shifting ‘Vidyaranya Kindergarten School’ managed by IAS Officers Wives Association (IASOWA), located on the Secretariat premises. The employees’ children pursue education in the school.

According to officials, the school may be shifted to Adarsh Nagar MLA Quarters as it is close to BRKR Bhavan. It would be easy for the employees to drop and pick up their children from the school if it is shifted there, it is felt.