In their moments of cynicism, Bihar denizens, burdened by their myriad skewed perceptions about the state of things at any point of time in the state, might have the feeling of angst on seeing or imagining Old Secretariat, since this is the place where CM Nitish Kumar and deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, along with the top brass of the state bureaucracy, not only sit, but take decisions having a bearing on their fate.
Yet, credit must go to CM Nitish that he took to refurbishing the look of Old Secretariat, both its interiors and exteriors, on a major scale after around a century of its existence. The same has been started in the three other secretariats - Vikas Bhawan or New Secretariat, along with Vishweshraiya Bhawan and allied buildings (including Technology Bhawan) near Punaichak on Bailey Road, and Sinchai Bhawan near Old Secretariat on Hardinge Road - whose buildings, by way of architectural style, are simply no match to the Old Secretariat building, as they are merely matchbox structures, with little given to, or left for, the imagination.
As it is, beginning December 2005, the refurbishing of the CM's chamber and his guest room started in Old Secretariat, and the process has been extended to other rooms — the chamber of Modi, hall for Cabinet meeting, auditorium that has the facility for video conferencing, and other rooms and halls. "Hangers on and uninvited visitors cannot enter their guest rooms. Nor can they cool their seats on the sofa there," said a secretariat employee.
The floors of rooms and lobbies have been fitted with cream-colour glazing vitrified tiles, like it had been done in Krishi Bhawan, Shastri Bhawan and other such buildings and offices at the Centre (Delhi) in the liberalized era when officials were required to display their ID cards and adopt businesslike look, approach, style and work culture. The process has also been extended to other Secretariat buildings, and is almost nearing completion. As of now, even the halls where assistants used to sit amid files and almirahs have been renovated, and they are also being provided with AC fittings.
That apart, the lobby and gallery of Old Secretariat have been lined with flower pots, while the job of cleaning the floors and keeping them shining have been outsourced to private organizations. The black maze of electric wires, which used to hang causing alarm among the onlookers, has been refitted.
A flight of stairs fitted afresh with grey granite plates leads to the central lobby on the first floor, where portraits of the country's first President, Dr Rajendra Prasad, and first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, welcome the visitors on whose movements guards keep vigil, while unauthorized entrants are prevented from entering the campus by police guards at every gate outside, and also in the lobby, like it used to be in the colonial era.
Incidentally, it was in the 15-year rule of the Lalu-Rabri era (1990-2005) that people came physically too close, and as a result, the real erosion of the four secretariats not only started, but also became manifest. While there were instances of manhandling of a few secretary-level official heads of department by the followers of Lalu-Rabri that included a few MPs, Lalu and Rabri themselves threw all caution and norm, including with regard to the treatment of senior officials, to the winds. Even Cabinet meeting would be for a period that was "less than brief" and they would attend to the files not in the Secretariat chamber meant for the CM, but at their official residences.
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