Somewhere in Chennai....

Ending speculation about the future of the new and modern secretariat complex, TN chief minister J Jayalalithaa on Friday announced that it would be converted into a super speciality hospital that would be on par with the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences. The proposed second block, yet to be constructed, will be converted into a medical college, she told the assembly. After making necessary arrangements, including appointing doctors and nurses besides procuring equipment, the sprawling assembly hall, which cost the previous DMK government about Rs 500 crore to build, would be put to public use. The complex, intended by the earlier DMK regime to be a modern secretariat, housing both the assembly hall and the government offices, could not accommodate all 36 state departments and the government could not function from two places, Jayalalithaa contended. DMK chief M Karunanidhi, who reacted to the decision late in the day at a public meeting in the city, said, “There is nothing wrong in converting the building into a hospital. I myself have donated my house (in Gopalapuram) for building a charitable hospital.” He added that the previous DMK government had spent about Rs 500 crore.