Chennai , 25 July (H.S.):

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's Office (CMO) will soon shift from its historic location inside Fort St. George to the Namakkal Kavignar Maaligai (NKM), marking a major administrative change in the functioning of the State Secretariat after more than six decades.

The relocation comes as the existing office at Fort St. George has become increasingly constrained by space, with officials citing the growing number of visitors, senior bureaucrats and delegations meeting Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay since he assumed office. The government believes the move will improve administrative efficiency and provide better facilities for official interactions.

Preparatory work for the transition is already underway at the 10th floor of Namakkal Kavignar Maaligai, where the new CMO will be established. The existing dining hall adjoining the conference hall is being converted into office space, with furniture and other facilities shifted to Kalaivanar Arangam to facilitate the renovation.

The relocation will also involve the movement of several government departments currently functioning on the 10th floor. Sections of the Information and Tamil Development Department, the Home (Prohibition) Department and the Commercial Taxes Department will be shifted to alternative locations within the Secretariat complex. The Information and Tamil Development Department will function from Kalaivanar Arangam.

Chief Minister Vijay has so far been functioning from the first floor of the Main Building at Fort St. George, where the CMO has operated for over six decades. The new office at Namakkal Kavignar Maaligai will also provide an unobstructed view of the Bay of Bengal.

The 10-storey Namakkal Kavignar Maaligai serves as one of the State Secretariat's principal administrative buildings, housing Secretaries and sections of 34 government departments. Built by Parsn Foundation and Engineering Company, it was inaugurated in 1975 by the then Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and has undergone several renovations over the years.

The proposed shift is the latest in a series of changes to the Secretariat's functioning. In 2010, the DMK government shifted the Secretariat to the Omandurar Government Estate, but the AIADMK government led by J. Jayalalithaa restored operations to Fort St. George the following year, later converting the Omandurar complex into a government multi-speciality hospital.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman