Tamil Nadu Government Considers Alternative Site for Assembly-cum-Secretariat Complex

CHENNAI: Thiruvidanthai, which figured in a two-decade-old plan under the Jayalalithaa government for an administrative city, is back in focus as an alternative site for the proposed new Assembly-cum-secretariat complex. The discussion comes amid growing opposition to the state government’s decision to locate the project at Foreshore Estate. Asked about the speculation that the government was considering dropping the Foreshore Estate site and looking at Thiruvidanthai as an alternative, a senior official denied any such proposal as under consideration. The political parties and fishermen organisations which vehemently oppose the Foreshore Estate proposal, however, have argued the government should look beyond a standalone Assembly-cum-secretariat complex and identify a spacious site for an integrated administrative city that could address the state’s long-term space requirements. They have suggested the East Coast Road corridor could offer such an alternative. The renewed debate brings together three strands: the Jayalalithaa government’s earlier attempt to establish an administrative city in the Thiruvidanthai-Thaiyur area; the availability of a substantial government land bank in the broader region; and the current demand for an alternative to the Foreshore Estate site. Thiruvidanthai’s relevance stems partly from its administrative history. When J Jayalalithaa was chief minister in the early 2000s, her government considered establishing a large administrative city outside Chennai. The proposal initially envisaged about 2,000 acres near Mamallapuram before focusing on Thiruvidanthai and neighbouring Thaiyur.