Come April 2014, the collectorate would get a swanky, four-storeyed building at a sprawling 9.605-acre address near Gandhi Maidan.

The state government has sanctioned Rs 9 crore for construction of the new Patna collectorate office. The project will begin in the current fiscal. The tendering process is in progress.

District magistrate (DM) Sanjay Kumar Singh told The Telegraph: “The state government has sanctioned funds for the construction of the new building and the work is likely to start this financial year itself. The building construction department is looking after the tendering process.”

In the first phase of construction, the office of the registration, excise and transport would be built. In the second phase, the offices of the General Provident Fund (GPF) and treasury will come up.

“The new building is urgently needed as the structure of the existing collectorate building is very old. We are trying our best to complete the paperwork immediately,” said the DM.

The four-storeyed building would come up behind the existing building of district board on the western side of the collectorate campus near Gandhi Maidan.

At present, the registration and excise department offices are located on the collectorate campus and the transport department is at Biscomaun building. However, the offices of the GPF and treasury are on the collectorate campus itself but far from the main building where the DM sits.

Sharing the benefits of the new building, Singh said: “Everything would be centralised at the new building, benefiting government officials as well as common people. People do not need to go here and there. Work related to the district administration would be available under one roof. All this has already been chalked out under the master plan of the new building.”

Elaborating on the features of the new building, Singh said: “It would have state-of-the-art facilities such as adequate parking space, lifts and power back-up. The new collectorate office would be people-friendly. Special attention has been given to the design of the building for visitors such as separate seating arenas.”

At present, many offices functioning under the DM are located outside the collectorate campus. A lot of time is wasted if officials of those offices have meetings with the DM. “The centralised building would enhance the functioning of the offices and make things easier,” the DM said.