The North Block secretariat at Raisina Hill, New Delhi. (Getty Images photo)

The South Block at Raisina Hill, New Delhi. It houses the Prime Minister’s Office and other important ministries. (Getty Images photo)

The Scope Complex on Lodhi Road. It has offices of 24 public sector units and has over 9,000 people working in it. (Getty Images photo)

NEW DELHI: The central government plans to build a massive new secretariat spread over nearly 10 acres in the Lutyens’ Bungalow Zone to overcome an office-space shortage of about 22 lakh sq ft.Going by rough calculations, the new secretariat would be at least twice the size of the Scope Complex on Lodhi Road, which has offices of 24 public sector units and has over 9,000 people working in the building.The proposal for the complex has been pushed by the department of personnel and training (DoPT) after the new government took over, sources said.Officials in the know of the plan said the proposal was under discussion and the first consultative meeting of was scheduled for later this week.An official said the idea was to bring all wings of every ministry or department in one building for efficient delivery and better intradepartmental coordination. At present, wings of many ministries and departments spread across many parts of the city.“Almost every ministry and department has been demanding more space to accommodate people. Currently they have no option but to take office space on rent. Sometimes departments have to wait for long periods till adequate space is found for them. The problem is only going to grow in future,” said a government official who did not wish to be named.In several cases, the estate department of urban development ministry has allocated space to central ministry offices in state government properties such as J&K House and Bikaner House. If the department provides a letter stating no space was available, ministries and departments are also allowed to take private properties on rent in complexes such as the Jeevan Bharti building in Connaught Place.TOI has learnt that though the Central Public Works Department has a lot of land in its possession in Ghitorni, south Delhi, where such an office complex can be built, this option is not being considered. This is because most ministries and departments are headquartered in the LBZ and want space in that area.Moreover, locating offices in the central part of the capital becomes convenient for public and other stakeholders. Sources said the site for the new office complex would be decided in the next few months. There is even an option to construct the secretariat on land occupied by two government bungalows.