The cost of the Assembly-Secretariat complex project has been revised at Rs.910 crore.
Indicating the revised cost, Governor Surjit Singh Barnala, in his customary address to the Assembly, said construction of the complex, [comprising the hall for the proposed Legislative Council], was in progress.
The Policy Note of the Public Works Department (Buildings) for 2010-2011, placed in the Assembly last year, had stated that the administrative cost of Block A of the complex was Rs.425.57 crore and that of Block B, Rs.279.56 crore. The total cost was put at around Rs.702 crore.
A senior official said that a number of factors had contributed to the rise in the cost. Increase in prices of inputs, additional works, design change, increase in the basement height of Block A and implementation of stringent fire safety measures and electrical safety standards as well as suggestions made from the angle of police security were among the reasons.
