CHENNAI : Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Friday announced that the new Secretariat complex, presently not in use, would house a super multi-specialty hospital on a par with All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The new hospital in the city would cater to the needs of the poor and downtrodden, besides housing a new medical college.With this, the Chief Minister has put to rest criticism from various quarters that the AIADMK government has deserted the complex, constructed at a huge cost using public money by the previous DMK government led by M Karunanidhi.Making a suo motu statement in the State Assembly, Jayalalithaa said necessary modifications would be made to the existing Block A — constructed in an area of 97,829 square metre and originally meant to house the new Assembly hall, Legislative Council hall, offices of the Chief Minister and other Ministers — to suit the requirements of the multi-specialty hospital. The Block B in the Omandurar Government Estate, where construction activities were still on, would be utilised for the medical college.Medical experts, nurses and technical staff would be appointed and all modern equipment required for the hospital would be purchased soon, she added.Jayalalithaa said the Secretariat and Assembly were still functioning in Fort St George as the Block A building in the estate was insufficient to house all the 36 government departments.The complex was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on March 13. The Secretariat, that was shifted from Fort St George to Omandurar Government Estate during the DMK regime, was reverted to its original place after the AIADMK government assumed office.
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