State undecided on renovation or rebuilding of Mantralaya annex

Renovating or building it again from the ground is the dilemma before the state government regarding the new building at annex of Mantralaya. A presentation involving a Rs250 crore proposal was shown to PWD minister Chandrakant Patil, who has decided to take this up with the chief minister.

PWD officials informed that the presentation was made by experts from an outside agency and it detailed how to go about the building's renovation. An official said that with the renovation itself estimated to cost a whopping Rs250 crore, it would be advisable to construct a new building instead.

The fire at Mantralaya main building in 2012 had prompted the previous Congress-NCP government to go for renovation of the main building. The PWD, however, is not happy with the renovation, because repairs and maintenance issues have been cropping up time and again. The presentation for renovation of the annex building was made to try and tackle the space crunch being felt there.

Most of the senior officials opined that since the presentation was of a preliminary nature and that the proposal needs more brainstorming within the department. Senior officials said that instead of going for renovation, there is a need to construct a new building, so that there can be more space for government offices. It is learnt that a separate presentation would be made for chief minister Devendra Fadnavis after which a final decision would be taken on this issue.