Palaniswami calls TVK government’s move to build new Assembly-Secretariat complex ‘unnecessary’

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Edappadi K. Palaniswami. File | Photo Credit: E. Lakshmi Narayanan

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Friday (September 11, 2026) termed the TVK-led State government’s move to build an Assembly-Secretariat complex at Pattinapakkam (Foreshore Estate) “unnecessary.”

In a statement, Mr. Palaniswami said that when the government was in the midst of severe debt and struggling with an acute shortage of funds, with farmers’ issues and social issues requiring the immediate attention of the government, the Secretariat complex at a cost of ₹1,200 crore was “not essential.”

Pointing out that the proposed site was a “congested area” marked by traffic bottlenecks, residential localities of fishing communities, and schools, the AIADMK leader recalled that the AIADMK’s founder, M.G. Ramachandran, as Chief Minister, and his successor, Jayalalithaa, had planned to construct such a complex in places where there were no space constraints and traffic jams.

Clarifying that he was not against the project per se, Mr. Palaniswami said that as and when its financial condition improved, the government could consider building the proposed complex at a site that did not cause any problem for the people. He appealed to Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to drop the proposal.

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