| Secretariat Building | |
|---|---|
 North Block of the building | |
  Location in New Delhi, India | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Indo-Saracenic |
| Location | New Delhi, India |
| Coordinates | 28°36′54″N77°12′21″E / 28.61500°N 77.20583°E /28.61500; 77.20583 |
| Construction started | 1912; 113 years ago (1912) |
| Completed | 1927; 98 years ago (1927) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor area | 148,000 sq ft (13,700 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Herbert Baker |
TheSecretariat Building orCentral Secretariat houses the most important offices and ministries of theGovernment of India. Situated atRaisina Hill, New Delhi, the Secretariat buildings are two blocks of symmetrical buildings (North Block and South Block) on opposite sides of the great axis ofRajpath, and flanking theRashtrapati Bhavan (President's House).
The planning ofNew Delhi began in earnest afterDelhi was made capital of theBritish Indian Empire in 1911.Lutyens was assigned responsibility for town planning and the construction ofViceroy's House (nowRashtrapati Bhavan);Herbert Baker, who had practised inSouth Africa for two decades, 1892–1912, joined in as the second in command. Baker took on the design of the next most important building, the Secretariat, which was the only building other than Viceroy's House to stand onRaisina Hill. As the work progressed relations between Lutyens and Baker deteriorated; the hill placed by Baker in front of Viceroy's House largely obscured Viceroy's House from view on the Rajpath fromIndia Gate, in breach of Lutyens' intentions; instead, only the top of the dome of Viceroy's House is visible from far away. To avoid this, Lutyens wanted the Secretariat to be of lower height than Viceroy's House, but Baker wanted it of the same height, and in the end it was Baker's intentions that were fulfilled.[1] The project was contracted by Sardar Bahadur Basakha Singh Sandhu andSardar Bahadur Sir Sobha Singh.[2]
After the capital of India moved to Delhi, a temporary secretariat building was constructed in a few months in 1912 inNorth Delhi. Most of the government offices of the new capital moved here from the 'Old Secretariat' inOld Delhi, a decade before the new capital was inaugurated in 1931. Many employees were brought into the new capital from distant parts ofBritish India, including theBengal Presidency andMadras Presidency. Subsequently, housing for them was developed aroundGole Market area.[3]
The Old Secretariat Building now houses theDelhi Legislative Assembly.[4] The nearbyParliament House was built much later, and hence was not constructed around the axis of Rajpath. Construction of Parliament House was begun in 1921, and the building was inaugurated in 1927.[5]
Today, the area is served by theCentral Secretariat station of theDelhi Metro.[6]
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The Secretariat Building was designed by the prominentBritish architectHerbert Baker inIndo-Saracenic Revival architecture. Both the identical buildings have four levels, each with about 1,000 rooms, in the inner courtyards to make space for future expansions. In continuation with the Viceroy's House, these buildings also used cream and redDholpur sandstone from Rajasthan, with the red sandstone forming the base. Together the buildings were designed to form two squares. They have broad corridors between different wings and wide stairways to the four floors and each building is topped by a giant dome, while each wings end withcolonnaded balcony. Much of the building is in classical architectural style, yet it incorporated fromMughal andRajasthani architecture style and motifs in its architecture. These are visible in the use ofJali, i.e. perforated screens. Another feature of the building is the structure known as theChatri, i.e. dome-shaped pavilions.[7]
The style of architecture used in Secretariat Building is unique to Raisina Hill. In front of the main gates on buildings are the four "dominion columns", given by Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. At the time of their unveiling in 1930, India was also supposed to become aBritish dominion soon. However, India became independent within the next 17 years and the Secretariat became the seat of power of a sovereign India. In the years to follow the building ran out of accommodation.[1]
 |  |
| The Bell tower and colonnaded balcony, Union Buildings | The Bell tower and colonnaded balcony, Secretariat Building |
Prior to coming to India, Baker had an established practice in South Africa over twenty years and designed various prominent buildings there, especially theUnion Buildings, inPretoria, built from 1910 to 1913, though designed in 1908. It is the official seat of theSouth African government, house the offices of thePresident of South Africa, and like the Secretariat Building, it also sits atop a hill, known as theMeintjieskop.
But the similarities between the two building show a clear influence of the former, especially in the basic structure of two wings and colonnaded balconies at the end with almost identical symmetrical bell towers. Both buildings have a similar symmetrical design in case of the Union Building the two wings are joined by a semi-circular colonnade, while with Secretariat building, the North and South Blocks are separated and face each other. The colour scheme is reversed while the roof of Union Building is covered with red tiles, in secretariat red sandstone is used in the ground floor walls only, the rest is the same pale sandstone.[1]
The Secretariat Building houses the following ministries:
| Ministry/Department Serial | Name of Ministry/Department | Ministry/Department abbreviated as | Block |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ministry No. 1 | Ministry of Defence | MoD | South |
| Ministry No. 2 | Ministry of Finance | MoF | North |
| Ministry No. 3 | Ministry of External Affairs | MEA | South |
| Ministry No. 4 | Ministry of Home Affairs | MHA | North |
| Office | Prime Minister's Office | PMO | South |
| Office | Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs | CBIC | North |
| Office | Central Board of Direct Taxes | CBDT | North |
| Office | National Security Council | NSC | South |
The Secretariat Building consists of two buildings: the North Block and the South Block. Both the buildings flank theRashtrapati Bhavan.
The terms 'North Block' and 'South Block' are often used to refer to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of External Affairs respectively.
