PWD to revamp construction of government buildings using premium FSI: T.N. Minister Aadhav Arjuna

The functioning of the Public Works Department (PWD) would be restructured to modernise the construction of government buildings in line with international standards, Public Works Minister Aadhav Arjuna stated on Tuesday.

Addressing the Assembly during the discussion on the Public Works Department’s budgetary demands, Mr. Arjuna said, “Instead of following the conventional practice of constructing three or five-storey buildings, the department would assess land value and calculate the permissible Floor Space Index (FSI) to maximise vertical development like in other countries.”

He unveiled maximum premium FSI. It is permissible under the Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building Rules 2019, would be utilised to construct buildings of international standards.

The department would also create a dashboard to compile centralised database on all administration buildings, including schools, hospitals and revenue divisional offices, being maintained by the PWD. The dashboard, to be created in six months, would compile data on the conditions of government buildings throughout the State and identify those requiring renovation.

Noting the need for transparency in reporting the maintenance of the structures, MLAs would be informed about the buildings’ condition and the matters in their constituency.

Mr. Arjuna also unveiled that Tamil Nadu Infrastructure and Construction Corporation would be established with a corpus fund of ₹1 crore. The Corporation would formulate plans to undertake administration building works costing more than ₹200 crore in the State on par with swanky private buildings and also construct buildings on unused administration lands to generate revenue.

The department was also in negotiations with the Industries department to participate in tenders and contracts for constructing buildings required by various private companies. The Corporation would provide architectural plans, project management consultation and quality control services for the substantial projects and would be used to develop townships, tech parks and business parks.

The registration process for the contractors would be simplified to enable more contractors to register and ensure administration works are executed at competitive rates while maintaining better quality, he said.

Besides creating a mobile application ‘TN.PWD’ to monitor status of projects and quality measures, the PWD would additionally launch a Building Management System to monitor the hospitals’ infrastructure through an AI-enabled central control unit. As a first phase, the system would be executed at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital with the backing of Indian Institute of Technology, Mr. Arjuna said.