CBDT and CBEC Members not to move into Rajaswa Bhavan
BULGING babudom has created space constraints in the North Block and a new National Tax Headquarters for the Central Revenue officers is coming up in Lutyen's Delhi – the Rajaswa Bhavan. The Bhavan was to house all the revenue offices of the CBEC and CBDT including all the directorates. The 75000 sq.m glass building hoped to be ready by 2014 is envisaged as an edifice epitomizing India's changing attitudes. The use of glass fosters a belief in the public's perception of Government, as moving from a closed, opaque and stoic system to a more open and transparent one.
Both the Boards were also supposed to shift to the new Bhavan, but there was stiff opposition from some quarters on shifting the Boards. A senior officer told us two years ago that it is not proper to shift the Chairman and Members of the two Revenue Boards. One reason is that the status and prestige attached to an office in the North Block cannot be compared to the best glasshouse in the world. And when the Chairman comes to meet the Finance Minister in the North Block, where will he sit? Even Joint Secretaries may put on a red light and not welcome the Chairman into their rooms and the Chairman will also have to wander in the corridors of power.
It seems, finally the Boards have succeeded in convincing the powers that be, to retain the offices of the Chairman and Members of the CBDT and CBEC in the North Block. Any day the inconvenience in North Block is preferable to the ultra modern luxury in Rajaswa Bhavan.