CHENNAI: The district collectorate office, currently functioning out of M Singaravelar Maaligai on Rajaji Salai, will be relocated to a new location in Guindy near the Madras Race Course. Revenue department sources said that the new building will not come up within the race course premises, as suggested by initial media reports.
“This will not be built within the race course premises where the ponds are being dug up by the city corporation to attract run-off from frequently-flooding nearby areas. However, it will be on government-owned land located near the race course and the Guindy railway station,” said a revenue department official.
Inadequate space at the existing eight-storey building was cited as the primary reason for the shift. The first floor houses the civil and additional sessions courts, while the second floor accommodates the offices of the district Adi Dravidar welfare, district backward classes welfare, TAHDCO, and a civil court. The remaining floors are used as administrative space, including the collector’s office.
Speaking to TNIE, an official from the collectorate noted that since the current building is occupied by both courts and the administration offices, it often leads to overcrowding owing to heavy footfall.
The order issued by the Revenue and Disaster Management Department on September 10 approved the transfer of 1.43 hectares, valued at `98.2 crore, of vacant government poramboke land in Guindy for the new collectorate office. The GO noted that the decision follows a request from the Chennai collector, who highlighted that the current office is operating with inadequate space.
The collector noted the need for a facility, with the district collector’s camp office and the district revenue officer’s camp office, so that all offices under the Chennai district revenue administration can function from one location.
While, officials said the detailed planning and design for the new building are yet to commence, the order stated that the relocation will also pave the way for a new multi-storeyed court complex on the current collectorate site, to house the subordinate courts in Chennai currently functioning inside the Madras high court campus.