From plush chandeliers to Chandigarh architecture-based paintings, the building screams luxury.

A whopping Rs 80 crore has been spent on the new Chandigarh Secretariat, a building where every corner oozes opulence. Located a few metres from the previous one, the plush building in Sector 9 was inaugurated early last year.

On Tuesday, the Punjab and Haryana High Court asked the UT to file an affidavit as to how much money has been spent on the new secretariat building and how much area is lying vacant in the old secretariat. The HC also asked about the footfall in this building.

The expenditure on the Chandigarh Secretariat that houses the offices of top brass of the Chandigarh Administration has always been a matter of debate, with residents questioning the building’s utility at the cost of taxpayers’ money and asking whether it would make the “officers more accessible”.

When one enters the building, the wide luxurious lobby with huge chandeliers can easily compete with that of a five-star hotel. The entire first floor is dedicated only to the office of UT Adviser and Governor with scores of rest rooms, waiting rooms for their guests and conference halls.

The entire second floor is dedicated to Home Secretary’s office, Secretary (culture) and their branches.

The entire third floor has Finance Secretary’s office , Secretary (tourism) and his branches while the fourth floor has the Health Secretary’s office and his branches concerned. Other secretaries sit in other offices on the other floors . This building is primarily being used only by the top brass of UT while the other staff sits in the old building, even after one year of it being functional.

However, staff of two key departments — engineering staff with chief engineer’s office and architect department — sit in the old building which is two buildings away, even after over a year of inauguration.

It has decorative umbrellas, modern furniture and an abundance of flowers. Real grass had been grown on the floor on the rooftop. The area was primarily used by the then Adviser for his special guests. Also, there is a dynamic lighting system which goes off automatically when no one is in the room.

Take a tour

From plush chandeliers to Chandigarh architecture-based paintings, the building screams luxury.

Even the waiting rooms have Pierre Jeanerette-inspired sofas and wooden partition dividers for privacy. An entire wall is dedicated to Le Corbusier and other iconic features of the city such as Rock Garden, Open Hand and Capitol Complex.

A senior officer of the administration stated that “this building has a 5 star green rating (as per GRIHA NORMS of GOI) and it’s a zero-waste building with STP (sewage treatment plant) on site where waste water is treated onsite”.

The officer stated that this building which is state-of-the-art building “is an energy-efficient building and almost 50% of energy needs are met through solar panels”.

“The second building of this kind is a new building of Chandigarh after the Chandigarh Housing Board,” the official said.

This building that has a ground floor plus six floors has been constructed over a period of 34 months, with features incorporated into the design to reduce its carbon footprint.

The new building hardly sees much footfall.

The first floor occupied by the office of the UT Adviser has plush waiting rooms, committee rooms, a separate VC (video conferencing) room and rest rooms.

Each floor is made disabled-friendly with tactile paving. Tactile paving has been done in a way that straight lines show a path and dots denote a junction, turn or function like a toilet, staircase etc.

Spread over 2.63 acres and situated between Chandigarh Housing Board building and police headquarters, the new secretariat building in Sector 9 is said to be the city’s first five-star-rated green building with a minimum carbon footprint with a total covered area of 2,14,818 square feet.

Officers added that the reason for the whopping expenditure is that it is a smart and intelligent building. “Chandigarh Secretariat building is a green smart and intelligent building that not just conforms to 5 star Griha rating system, it has an insulated roof, terrace garden, solar reflective tiles on terrace to curtail the heat transfer, drip irrigation for water conservation etc,” the official said.