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AFTER much delay, the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Civic Centre was finally inaugurated on Thursday by home minister P. Chidambaram.

While praising the city’s tallest building, Chidambaram urged both the Congress and the BJP to work in tandem for the welfare of the people and to turn the Civic Centre into a world class structure.

“ A great city like Delhi must have a good civic administration and all stakeholders must join hands to make it look world class,” Chidambaram said.

Former deputy Prime Minister L. K. Advani, leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit were also present during the inauguration.

Dikshit took the opportunity to congratulate the citizens of Delhi. She said it was significant that the civic centre, with a number of energy conservation and environmental protection measures, was being unveiled on the ‘ Earth Day’. Expressing happiness over the naming of the building after the Jan Sangh founder, Advani described Mukherjee as a great leader and a national hero.

“ I am happy that the MCD has decided to name it after him and the Delhi and central governments also gave their approval,” the BJP leader said.

The building, which is expected to cater to 20,000 footfalls a day, will bring under one roof the various departments of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi ( MCD), which looks after 96 per cent of the areas in the Capital.

The existing MCD headquarter at Town Hall is expected to be turned into a heritage hotel or a museum.

The 28- storey, 368 feet or 112- metre civic centre, was built at a cost of Rs 650 crore.

It was constructed for over an area of 1.16 lakh square metres following a concept called ‘ green building’. It was designed for optimum utilisation of natural resources such as air, water and sunlight.

MCD commissioner K. S. Mehra noted that the Town Hall, which was constructed in 1860, used to cater to only 1.20 lakh people in 1958, when the civic body came into being. “ With the population of Delhi touching 1.60 crore, the need for a new headquarter was felt for long,” Mehra said.

Delhi finance minister A. K. Walia assured the MCD of the government’s assistance to carry out developmental work in the city.

The MCD has signed an MoU with the Income Tax department for leasing out 40 per cent of the built- up area at an approximate value of Rs 1,800 crore.

Some work at the building is yet to be completed. It is being done in phases. “ The civic body will shift some of its offices, such as the engineering department and the mayor’s office, even as the work is on,” officials said.