Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) President Anbumani Ramadoss on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, urged the Tamil Nadu government to reconsider its reported plan to relocate the proposed new Secretariat to Pallavan Illam on Anna Salai, warning that the site's limited area, flood exposure along the Cooum River banks, and traffic implications make it an unsuitable choice for a long-term administrative headquarters.

The Site Comparison Problem

Anbumani, a former Union minister, pointed out that the Pallavan Illam site spans only 13.22 acres — significantly smaller than the 26.26 acres previously under consideration at Pattinapakkam and the 39.54 acres available at the Omandurar government estate. He questioned how a facility with a proposed built-up area of 20 lakh square feet could be viably accommodated on such a constrained parcel while fulfilling the functional demands of a state administrative headquarters.

Traffic and Accessibility Concerns

Anbumani warned that positioning a complex of this scale on Anna Salai — one of Chennai's busiest arterial roads — could add substantially to traffic pressure. The daily movement of government employees, elected representatives, officials, and visitors would intensify congestion at an already stressed corridor, he said. The presence of major roads, religious structures and the river on all sides leaves little room for traffic management infrastructure, he argued.

Flood Risk Along the Cooum

The PMK chief also raised environmental concerns, noting that construction along the banks of the Cooum River carries serious flood risks. He called on the government to assess these risks thoroughly before arriving at any decision, particularly given Chennai's well-documented vulnerability to urban flooding. This comes amid broader concerns about waterway encroachments across the city that have repeatedly worsened flood damage in past monsoon seasons.

Expansion Constraints and Long-Term Viability

Beyond immediate hazards, Anbumani argued that the site's physical boundaries — hemmed in by roads, the river, and existing structures — would make any future expansion impossible. For an institution expected to serve the state over multiple generations, he said, that rigidity was a fundamental disqualification.

A Counter-Proposal: Integrated Administrative City

While supporting the principle of a new Secretariat to address Tamil Nadu's growing administrative needs, Anbumani proposed an alternative vision: an integrated administrative city spread across 500 to 1,000 acres on the city's outskirts, planned with a century-long horizon. He argued that rather than compressing another major government complex into an already dense urban core, the state should seize this as an opportunity for transformative, sustainable planning — one that provides adequate room for administrative growth, green infrastructure, and long-term accessibility. The government has not yet formally responded to the PMK's concerns, and the final location for the proposed Secretariat remains undecided.