New Rs 186-crore CBI HQ sports corporate look

The new office of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday, sports a snazzy and corporate look.

This is quite in contrast to its previous sarkari avatar in the same vicinity. Sprawled over 7,000 sq metre, the 11-storeyed building with modern trappings is the scene of action for the premier investigative agency from on Saturday.

Built by the National Buildings Construction Corporation at a cost of Rs 186 crore, the CBI headquarters at the CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, is equipped with all modern facilities — from gymnasium to cafeteria to terrace garden.

The 10th and 11th floors are mainly reserved for top officials, including the CBI director, additional directors and special directors.

The office is all about open design, with lines and cubicles marked in shades of pink and grey.

Yellow and green floor tiles as well as brightly-painted pillars and furnitures add colour to a rather serious-looking office. Even the lock-up rooms in the new building are bigger and brighter, a CBI official said.

All the floors are equipped with CCTV cameras. Security will be beefed up in the days to come, with a reception desk for each storey.

There are plans to also have ATM machines inside the office for easy access.

The sixth floor of the building houses a museum, which showcases some of the most important cases in the history of CBI.

While the 2G spectrum scam is yet to find a place on its walls, the infamous Bofors scandal is given a miss.

The long list of cases successfully handled by CBI includes Telgi, Harshad Mehta, Bhopal Gas Tragedy and Rajiv Gandhi's assasination, etc.

CBI officials said many more exhibits would be on display soon. Among other cases that find a mention on the walls of this museum are Fodder scam and the Satyam scandal.

The museum also has many sculptures and paintings of architectural significance, which were seized by CBI such as Mohini on a swing, stone sculpture of Buddha etc. Toughened glass is used liberally in the building.

Also, CBI officials claim to have put several steps in place to make it a green building, such as rain water harvesting, solar water heating, energy saving light fittings and high-efficiency glass to reduce heat load.

A double level basement parking for about 470 vehicles is created in the building, besides an advanced fire-fighting system and power back-up.

The previous office of CBI will now be occupied by the National Investigative Agency.