Govt. takes serious view of cracks in Secretariat building as part of railing collapses  

State government investigates safety concerns at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat after structural issues arise.

The State government has taken a serious view of the cracks that developed in parts of the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat building.

A portion of the railing of the fifth floor the building collapsed late on Wednesday night raising concerns about its safety. The collapsed railing fell on the vehicle of Ramagundam market committee chairman. Officials heaved a sigh of relief as there was no movement of people around the spot.

This is not a stray incident as there have been complaints from the staff over the leaking roofs and cracks developing on the roofs of different floors in the building constructed during the previous BRS regime. The cost of the new Secretariat building estimated at ₹212 crore initially had been escalated progressively to over ₹1,000 crore with the then Roads and Buildings officials claiming that the additional cost was on account of providing state-of-the-art facilities in the new building enabling holistic facilities in the seat of administration and making it a role model in the country.

With the lapses in the quality of construction coming out, R&B Principal Secretary Vikas Raj took a serious note of the developments, expressing his anger over the officials not submitting a report almost 24 hours after the cracks were observed. Mr. Vikas Raj has asked the officials to submit a comprehensive report on the deficiencies in the construction of the complex detailing the problematic areas.

Roads and Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy too was thoroughly dissatisfied over the developments and vented his anger against the contracting agency Shapoorji Pallonji.

Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Pvt Ltd, however, clarified that the collapse of the GRC frame at the Telangana State Secretariat was due to drilling for cables and lighting, and “not a construction defect”. Asserting that the building’s structure was safe, the company said parts of the GRC structure were intended for cladding and drilling could have led to the damage. The contracting major said it would review the incident.

It may be recalled that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy expressed his doubts over the quality of construction when he was the TPCC president sensing a fraud in the entire project.