Writers’ Building renovation in Kolkata is expected to be completed by October 9, allowing the Public Works Department to hand the historic state government complex back to the administration ahead of the October 10 Mahalaya observance, according to the department and Public Works Minister Ajay Poddar.
The proposed handover will prepare offices for Chief Minister Shubhendu Adhikari, several ministers and senior officials, including the chief secretary, home secretary and director general of police. The state administration is expected to decide when the officials will begin operating from the building, while the Public Works Department’s immediate responsibility is to complete the construction and restoration work.
Poddar said the department would complete its work by October 9 and transfer responsibility for Writers’ Building to the state government. He added that offices for the chief minister, six ministers, the chief secretary, the home secretary and the state police chief would be ready, but declined to comment on when the ministers and officials would start working from the complex.
The reported plan includes offices for the chief minister as well as Panchayat Minister Dilip Ghosh, Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Minister Agnimitra Pal, Tourism and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shankar Ghosh, Health Minister Sharadwat Mukhopadhyay and Public Works Minister Ajay Poddar. The Public Works Department is also preparing space for the chief minister’s secretariat and other key administrative offices.
Two ministers already have designated rooms in the building. Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Minister of State Umesh Roy and Minister of State for Law Biraj Biswas are expected to continue working from their existing offices when the new offices become operational.
Writers’ Building has not housed the state administration’s main offices since 2013, when the then government shifted administrative departments to Nabanna. The move was linked to the need to renovate the British-era building. Although renovation work began later, its completion was delayed for an extended period, leaving Nabanna as the principal administrative base.
The return plan follows the change of government after the May Assembly election. The new BJP government had indicated that it wanted to conduct administration from Writers’ Building rather than Nabanna, but the relocation could not proceed while the renovation remained incomplete. Most ministers, including the chief minister, have therefore continued to work from Nabanna.
The current work is focused on making the building usable for senior political and administrative offices within the stated deadline. The Public Works Department’s recent review meeting examined the progress of the renovation, after which officials were directed to accelerate the remaining work. The next formal milestone is the department’s proposed October 9 handover; whether the offices begin functioning from October 10 will depend on the state government’s decision.
