How a 'simple' building can be made extremely 'complex'
Many Maharashtrians – especially bureaucrats, politicians and even common men in the know – who visit Delhi opt to stay at the old Maharashtra Sadan, centrally located at Delhi's Copernicus Marg... Though quite unsuccessfully one should say. And why? Out of total 56 rooms in the building, 35 are reserved for MPs, secretaries, and higher officials, thus leaving only 21 rooms for common people – but with 24 new Maharashtra MPs staying here owing to lack of allotted residential quarters in Delhi, there're practically no rooms left for the common people. As if on foresight, almost three years ago, Chhagan Bhujbal, current Deputy CM of Maharashtra, had passed orders for building a new five-star Sadan on the six-acre plot which currently houses the old building; his formula to build without spending from the government’s exchequer found instant favour (the developer would use the build-operate-transfer model, presumably).
With Sharad Pawar performing bhoomi poojan, demolitions at the old building had started way back on November 27, 2006. Over time, rather than this being simply a 'build it-forget it' issue for Chhagan, this project somehow became a prestige issue wherein he became oriented towards making the new Maharashtra Sadan the most imposing state 'bhavan' in the Capital. Perchance to this effect, Bhujbal roped in well known architects – like P. G. Patki, who designed a replica of Pune’s famed Vishrambaug Wada (colloquial for Sadan) – and also ensured that his representatives (at least one deputy engineer we know of) were based permanently out of Delhi to control quality and other schedules till the project finished.
And the plans? The new Vishrambaug Wada will consist of special suites for the governor and CM. There will be 136 A/C rooms, auditorium, press conference room, gymnasium, dining hall, executive dining hall, library, kitchenette, staff canteen, laundry, CCTV cameras at the main entrance, internet café, etc. Drainage water will be processed and recycled for use. What more, the building will be earthquake-resistant! So far, not so good...
Because then started the sticky part – delays. Though the project was to be completed in November 2008 at an expense of Rs 51 crores, huge objectives led to the expected delays, which consequently led to a Frankenstein-like cost escalation reported to be between Rs 25-50 crores. While Bhujbal wanted to complete the project before the Vidhan Sabha elections, realising that the same was next to impossible, he called an emergency meeting of all officials concerned with a simple objective – at least build the outer structure!
It is strange how a simple building can attain such complex ramifications that finally, all that remains of the objective is the outer shell... But isn't that true of almost all political ambitions?
Many Maharashtrians – especially bureaucrats, politicians and even common men in the know – who visit Delhi opt to stay at the old Maharashtra Sadan, centrally located at Delhi's Copernicus Marg... Though quite unsuccessfully one should say. And why? Out of total 56 rooms in the building, 35 are reserved for MPs, secretaries, and higher officials, thus leaving only 21 rooms for common people – but with 24 new Maharashtra MPs staying here owing to lack of allotted residential quarters in Delhi, there're practically no rooms left for the common people. As if on foresight, almost three years ago, Chhagan Bhujbal, current Deputy CM of Maharashtra, had passed orders for building a new five-star Sadan on the six-acre plot which currently houses the old building; his formula to build without spending from the government’s exchequer found instant favour (the developer would use the build-operate-transfer model, presumably).
With Sharad Pawar performing bhoomi poojan, demolitions at the old building had started way back on November 27, 2006. Over time, rather than this being simply a 'build it-forget it' issue for Chhagan, this project somehow became a prestige issue wherein he became oriented towards making the new Maharashtra Sadan the most imposing state 'bhavan' in the Capital. Perchance to this effect, Bhujbal roped in well known architects – like P. G. Patki, who designed a replica of Pune’s famed Vishrambaug Wada (colloquial for Sadan) – and also ensured that his representatives (at least one deputy engineer we know of) were based permanently out of Delhi to control quality and other schedules till the project finished.
And the plans? The new Vishrambaug Wada will consist of special suites for the governor and CM. There will be 136 A/C rooms, auditorium, press conference room, gymnasium, dining hall, executive dining hall, library, kitchenette, staff canteen, laundry, CCTV cameras at the main entrance, internet café, etc. Drainage water will be processed and recycled for use. What more, the building will be earthquake-resistant! So far, not so good...
Because then started the sticky part – delays. Though the project was to be completed in November 2008 at an expense of Rs 51 crores, huge objectives led to the expected delays, which consequently led to a Frankenstein-like cost escalation reported to be between Rs 25-50 crores. While Bhujbal wanted to complete the project before the Vidhan Sabha elections, realising that the same was next to impossible, he called an emergency meeting of all officials concerned with a simple objective – at least build the outer structure!
It is strange how a simple building can attain such complex ramifications that finally, all that remains of the objective is the outer shell... But isn't that true of almost all political ambitions?
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