Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Monday directed the officials to renovate the state Legislative Assembly building on the lines of the Parliament. At a review meeting he held along with Legislative Council Chairman Gutha Sukender Reddy and Assembly Speaker G. Prasad Kumar, the Chief Minister said measures must be taken to enhance the dignity of the House.
According to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), he directed officials to redesign the Assembly to ensure greater privacy and dignity for all members during legislative sessions. The Chief Minister directed officials that the Central Hall must be ready before the next session begins.
He also wanted a club for members to be established within the Public Gardens adjoining the Assembly premises. Revanth Reddy also emphasised the need for strict preservation of the current Assembly and old Council buildings. He said measures must be taken to ensure that no damage is caused to the heritage buildings during the renovation works.
New amenities, including a dedicated walking track and sports facilities, will be added. The Chief Minister also ordered a significant strengthening of the overall security infrastructure. Last month, the Chief Minister inaugurated the renovated Legislative Council building in the Assembly premises.
The old Assembly building, where legislative business was conducted in the erstwhile Hyderabad State, now houses the Legislative Council. The Legislative Council has been conducting its proceedings from the Council Hall within the majestic Jubilee Hall premises adjacent to the Assembly premises since 2018.
The Council Hall was given to Andhra Pradesh for its Legislative Council following its bifurcation in 2014. After Andhra Pradesh shifted its capital to Amaravati, it handed over the Council Hall to Telangana. The old Assembly building within the Assembly premises, which has been used as the Andhra Pradesh Assembly since 2014, has now been renovated to house the Telangana Legislative Council.
The restoration work took 18 months, and the state government spent Rs 30 crore on the project to renovate the old Assembly building, an example of Indo-Saracenic architecture where legislative business was once conducted during the Nizam era when Hyderabad was a princely state.
After the formation of Andhra Pradesh in 1956, it began functioning as the Assembly building. However, it had fallen into disuse after the inauguration of the new Legislative Assembly building in 1985. Following the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in June 2014, the building was allocated to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly.
After the Andhra Pradesh Assembly shifted to Amaravati, the heritage structure was disused and slipped into a dilapidated condition. After the Congress came to power in 2023, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy decided to renovate the heritage structure to house the Legislative Council.