CHENNAI: A public interest litigation (PIL) petition has been filed in the Madras High Court seeking to stay the TVK government’s move to construct a new secretariat complex at Foreshore Estate and issue orders to the government to abandon the proposal.
The petition, filed by Advocate R S Tamilvendan of Chennai, stated that spending Rs 1,200 crore on it at a time when the state is facing a ‘financial crisis’ will cause further burden, and the taxpayers’ money could be saved if the existing secretariat is renovated.
“If the secretariat is set up in the fishing villages of Pattinapakkam, the welfare of the fishermen will be affected,” the petitioner said, adding that if the government goes ahead with the proposal, it will affect the poor in the locality.
Stating that the proposed site for the new secretariat is already congested, the petitioner said the construction would further aggravate the congestion, leading to traffic snarls.
Noting that the present secretariat functions on the premises of Fort St George which is close to the MGR Chennai Central railway station, he said shifting it to Pattinapakkam would affect the public.
Stating that the government has not taken any action based on the representation he made on September 12, the petitioner sought the court to pass an order of interim injunction restraining the authorities from constructing the complex.