The new West Bengal government will no longer be functioning from Nabanna, which served as the seat of power for 13 of the 15-year tenure of outgoing CM Mamata Banerjee. After winning the state, the Bharatiya Janata Party plans on retaking the majestic seat at the historic Writers’ Building, shifting the state secretariat back to Kolkata from Howrah.BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya on Wednesday met the acting Chief Secretary Dushyant Nariala in Nabanna. Sources in the administration said the party leader informed them about shifting the secretariat once the new chief minister is sworn in.AdvertisementAs per the BJP, the new chief minister is expected to take oath at the Brigade Parade ground on Saturday morning, after which the new leader will assume office at the Writers’ Buildings situated in the centre of Kolkata.The party has not yet declared its CM face.The BJP has always been keen on moving the secretariat back to the Writers’ building, given its historical and symbolic significance. Backing the move, Bhattacharya said: “We have been saying since 2021 that we will run the government from the Writers’ Buildings. I announced this during the election campaign this year as well. But the final decision will be taken by the new chief minister.” The Writers’ Buildings in Kolkata on Wednesday. (Express photop by Partha Paul)A ‘temporary’ shiftAdvertisementFor over 250 years, this building served as the seat of power — first for the East India Company, then British India, and then the state government of West Bengal after Independence — until October 2013. Upon taking oath for the first time in 2011, Mamata too had assumed office at Writers building. However, she decided to temporarily shift her secretariat across the Ganga to Nabanna on Howrah’s Sarat Chatterjee Street.The Mamata-led government had then allotted around Rs 200 crore to renovate the old building, citing fire and disaster concerns in the then dilapidating site. Mamata had then said: “This building has become a tinderbox. We have reports from the fire and disaster and security department that this is a tinderbox. We can’t break one room at a time. So, we are looking for a place to shift temporarily.”The shift, however, never happened as the work here is yet to be completed.Renovation lingers onAs part of the revamp, the public works department (PWD) had demolished the two annexe buildings developed in between the original ‘E’ structure of the building. But, after that, the development slowed down. The Writers’ Buildings originally had around 3 lakh sq ft of workspace, which was reduced to around 2.5 lakh sq ft after demolition. This space would have been enough to accommodate at least 8-10 departments, including the chief minister’s office.PWD officials maintained that if the new government wants to shift back immediately, only blocks 1 and 2 could be made available for it, and the CMO could operate on the second floor, where the renovation work has been almost completed. The CMO was originally situated on the first floor here, where repairs could take another six months.Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nand on Wednesday visited the Writers’ Buildings to take stock of the security arrangements as well as the renovation work.Standing tall for 250 yearsyou may likeBuilt in the year 1777, the Writers’ Buildings was designed by Thomas Lyon and constructed on behalf of Richard Barwell, a council member during Warren Hastings’ tenure as the governor general. It was privately owned, but the East India Company bought it three years before the 1857 War of Independence, after which it served as the office quarters for the EIC clerks. Around 1906, the building acquired its characteristic Greco-Roman look, when a portico was added in the central bay, and the exposed brick painted red.The neo-classical, red colonial edifice with its majestic Corinthian columns, standing at the cacophonous BBD Bagh intersection; the Writers’ Buildings has been a silent witness to the history of India and Bengal.For decades, its imposing architecture has been a matter of pride for India, but Kolkata’s first three-storied structure now needs a serious facelift before the government can move back here.