Delhi Government Eyes Four Potential Sites For New Secretariat Building

In a fresh bid to house all administrative departments under one roof, the Delhi government is actively exploring four possible sites for the construction of a new secretariat building, Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma said on Tuesday.

Among the shortlisted options are the defunct Rajghat Thermal Power Plant, Khyber Pass near Civil Lines, the MSO building at ITO, and Indraprastha Estate, adjacent to the new WHO building.

"There are three or four good locations with huge land space where a new secretariat can be constructed. The space at Rajghat Thermal Power Plant is particularly promising, 18 acres of unused land," said Mr Singh.

The government is considering a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model for the project, similar to how Delhi's Civic Centre was built. "A high-rise building can be constructed here to recover costs while addressing the infrastructure needs of the Delhi administration," he added.

Existing Setup Scattered, Outdated

Currently, the Delhi government functions from the Players' Building, near ITO, a structure originally designed as a hotel for participants of the 1982 Asian Games. Over the years, the building was repurposed as the Secretariat. However, the space has long been insufficient to house the sprawling administrative machinery of the capital.

"The existing building doesn't have space to accommodate all senior officials," Mr Singh said. As a result, several departments, including Revenue, Labour, Education, Transport, GST, Excise, and Food and Civil Supplies, are spread across the city in areas such as Kashmere Gate, Civil Lines, and Shastri Park.

Last week, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, who visited the current premises, called for immediate steps to begin work on a new, integrated secretariat.

"Witnessing the state of the building left me extremely distressed. The time has come to construct a well-organised and integrated secretariat... We cannot leave our officials to work in such miserable conditions any longer," she said.

Why Rajghat Is Under Consideration

Among the four proposed sites, Rajghat Thermal Power Plant, non-functional for years, is gaining traction. Around 70% of the land at Rajghat is already under the Delhi government, while the rest is with the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).

"There are also other land parcels under consideration at Khyber Pass, near Vidhan Sabha, and across ITO where Vikas Bhawan and the MSO building already exist," Singh added.

Not the First Attempt

This isn't the first time Delhi has floated a plan to centralise its administrative offices. The idea has been in the pipeline since the Sheila Dikshit government, which explored moving departments to sites like Dwarka or Mundka, but these proposals were eventually shelved due to distance and connectivity concerns.

The AAP government under Arvind Kejriwal also attempted to revive the plan in 2021, proposing twin 35-storey towers at the ITO site by demolishing the PWD and GST buildings as well as Vikas Sadan. The project, estimated at Rs 1,200 crore, was to be executed on a fast-track basis.

The PWD floated a tender in December 2021 to hire a consultant for the project. Though a draft proposal and architectural plan were prepared in 2024 and sent to the then PWD Minister Atishi, it never progressed beyond the planning stage.

Departments on the Move, Again

Due to the persistent space crunch, many departments continue to relocate. The Planning Department is set to shift to a DMRC building in Shastri Park, while other major departments remain scattered:

Transport Department: Underhill Road, Civil Lines

GST, Excise, PWD: ITO

DTC HQ: Near IP metro station (also slated for revamp)

Vikas Bhawan II: Civil Lines

The fragmented setup has long been seen as a hurdle to streamlined governance.

"If we want to improve governance in Delhi, we must also modernise where and how our officials work," a senior official told NDTV.

With key departments scattered across the capital and critical space shortages impacting day-to-day functioning, the pressure on the government to act is mounting.

Whether Rajghat or another site emerges as the final choice, the question remains: will this effort finally deliver a modern, centralised secretariat that meets the capital's growing governance needs, or will the project remain stuck in paperwork once again?