"Until we get the original document, the activities of the secretariat relocation project will remain stopped," said planning minister AHM Mustafa Kamal while briefing reporters after the ECNEC meeting.

The project was sent back for review at the 10th ECNEC1 meeting of the current fiscal year held at NEC Conference room with ECNEC chairperson and prime minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

Mustafa Kamal said, "The prime minister has directed the authorities concerned to collect the original master plan of Louis I Kahn fearing that the replica of the plan what the country has at this moment might have deviated or witnessed any other changes over the years."

The minister further said, “Actually, the prime minister wants to make it sure that the master plan of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban is not disfigured in any way.”

He said they will finalise the project immediately after getting the original copy of the master plan. The original master plan has to be collected from a university of the United States.

• 1. On Jun 6, a proposal was placed before the PEC of the Planning Commission to construct a new secretariat complex on a 32-acre land comprising the present trade fair ground and adjoining plots in the absence of space in Ramna to extend the present complex.

  But the Planning Commission rebuffed the plan for being prepared without any survey, a senior commission official had told bdnews24.com.

  Despite the Planning Commission’s objections, it was later decided to finalise the proposal at the prime minister’s behest.

  The plan provided for the construction of four blocks on the 32-acre plot. The two bigger blocks were to house 32 major ministries, and the two smaller ones were to have 16 lesser ones.

  The complex was to have the main secretariat and associated buildings, an auditorium and a hall, a mosque arcade and a co-operative building, entrance plaza, chiller room, roads, and a boundary wall.

  The plan was to let the Public Works Department handle the Tk 20bn project, to be completed by 2018.

  A senior Planning Commission official had told bdnews24.com the proposal lacked prior evaluation and the detailed project plan gave no indication of the space requirement of the ministries and departments.

  Earlier, a similar plan had been made in 1974 envisioning 10 nine-storey blocks with supporting facilities. A contract had also been signed with David Wisdom and Associates.

  But the project failed to get off the ground because of a changed political scenario.