Latest technology will be used for regulating entry and exit, issuing passes to visitors, and for ensuring fire safety as part of revamping security at the Secretariat.
The move comes in the wake of the August fire in the Secretariat and a few incidents of trespass by agitators who scaled the iron railings of the boundary wall.
After the fire in August, the Cabinet had tasked Additional Chief Secretary, Home, T.K. Jose to improve security at the Secretariat. The government had also wanted steps to improve the perimeter security of the building and better vetting of visitors.
Panels formed
The Chief Secretary will head the five-member high-level Secretariat Security Committee that will look into revamping the present arrangements. The Additional Chief Secretary, Home and Vigilance; the Additional Chief Secretary, Finance; the Principal Secretary, GAD; and the State Police Chief will be the members.
In line with the government directive, Chief Secretary Vishwas Mehta has set up a four-member high-level committee to suggest and implement measures to revamp the security. The Principal Secretary, General Administration, will be the chairman of this implementation committee. Principal Secretary, PWD; Secretary, Home and Vigilance; and the District Police Chief, Thiruvananthapuram City; will be the members.
The committee has been asked to suggest all measures and technological installations for revamping security. The government has issued formal orders constituting both the committees.
‘A fire risk’
The fire safety practices at the Secretariat were subjected to audit by the Electrical Inspectorate and the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority after the August blaze, though the investigators are yet to find out the reason. The Fire and Rescue Department had earlier found the 19th century vintage building a fire risk.
The Secretariat is one of the 15 spaces/installations on the list of special security zones in the capital.
