Vikasa Soudha faces wiring glitches

E-home yet to log on to wired world
The Times of India

Bangalore: A software glitch has hit the e-home: Karnataka government’s new secretariat building, Vikasa Soudha, is yet to be occupied even three months after the scheduled date. Reason: ‘networking’ of the building hasn’t been done.

The Soudha, a brainchild of former CM S.M. Krishna, has been planned as the most modern secretariat building in the country — a model expected to be replicated all over. But while the imposing exteriors — a mirror image of Vidhana Soudha — have been built, the interiors have taken three months more than schedule. And the ewiring hasn’t taken off at all.

Why? Blame it on a software war! “We want the building to have the best possible local area network because this government moves on e-systems. But we are taking time to choose a system since those on offer are from top firms,’’ chief secretary K.K. Misra told The Times of India.

Led by Wipro and Tata Consultancy services, almost every major software company worth its name has bid for the presitigious contract. The government set up a technical committee to look into it and took its own time to decide; the technical bids are now pending before the finance department for clearance.

PWD officials are giving a date of “end-January or early February’’ for completion of works, against the earlier deadline of September. This is almost a year after the building was inaugurated by Krishna in February 2004.

“In a building of such magnitude, one or the other activity becomes critical and things don’t move very fast. Now the tables, chairs and other furnishings are being done. As soon as the LAN is decided upon, the moving will start,’’ a senior PWD official said.

As ‘hosts’ — since they own the building — the PWD will be the first to move. The department of personnel and administrative reforms (DPAR) has already allocated rooms for all 19 departments, which are to shift from Vidhana Soudha or the multistoreyed building.

The atmosphere, however, has already become electric. Be it secretaries or mere staffers, minister or his hanger-on, everyone has gone to Vikasa Soudha to take a peek at what their future home is going to be.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Area: 7.5 acres
Cost: Rs 125 crore
Rooms: Over 120

Will accommodate:
14 ministers, 19 dept secretaries

Raison d’etre:
All government offices under one roof, saves annual rent of Rs 5.5 crore for buildings all over Bangalore

Floors:
Eight; 3 basements for parking 600 cars; parking for another 400 on ground level

Courtyards:
Four, providing light to all rooms and corridors

Security:
Grill compound around Vidhana Soudha covers Vikasa Soudha too as one unit. Boom barriers at all gates, CCTV and surveillance designed as per CISF recommendations

Power:
Grid interactive solar 100 kva system Water: 7 sumps of 4 lakh litres each; three fire-fighting systems

Cafeteria: Three

Special feature:
Printing press for confidential documents, like the budget