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Maharashtra State delays Mantralaya makeover

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The Mantralaya makeover offers a cautionary tale about how the state government flip-flopped and see-sawed over its project plans, because of which the makeover got delayed (although the project cost did not rise, as per a stipulation to this effect in the project contract).

The chief minister's office with that of his deputy was gutted in a fire that claimed two lives on June 21, 2012. After the incident the then-chief minister Prithviraj Chavan started operating from the first floor, and renovation work began on the fourth floor.

Initially, Chavan had decided to operate from the first-floor office even after the renovation. Later, when the fourth-floor renovation was almost complete, various security agencies raised objections to his working from the first floor. They said it would be easy for any terror outfit to target the chief minister's office even from the road outside. After consulting with various security agencies, an absurd proposal was mooted- building a wall around Mantralaya- but this plan was shelved. It was decided that the CM would retain the fourth floor office. Meanwhile, the fourth floor was ready. But now it had to be altered again, since the chief minister's office had to be accommodated here.

When the renovation of the upper three floors was underway, the bureaucracy was reminded of available additional unused FSI (Floor Space Index) which resulted in additional construction work of almost one lakh square feet on the terrace of the Mantralaya, leading to the creation of a seventh floor. It was decided that the seventh floor would have the cabinet hall with an executive dining room as well, which further delayed the project. The big overhead tank had to be broken to undertake construction on the terrace.

The project sported a bevvy of consultants, even though there was only one architect. The consultants looked at many aspects of the project, right from electrical appliances to furniture.

The design of the exterior, too, caused further delays of over a year. Work on the grand steps outside Mantralaya had barely begun when it was halted; the plan to have steps was cancelled. After a year, the government again requested the contractor to build the steps.

Lastly, the then-CM Chavan had the idea of having a single large cabin for each secretary per department. But after much of the work was over, the under-secretaries and deputy secretaries also made their case, which resulted in the creation of 40 cabins. This entailed a further delay in the project.

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