Writers' Building

Writers' Building
মহাকরণ
Main façade of the Writers' Building
General information
Address	H8FX+GGJ, Binoy Badal Dinesh Bag N Road, BBD Bagh, Kolkata – 700001
Town or city	Kolkata, West Bengal
Country	India
Coordinates	22°34′25″N 88°20′59″E / 22.57369°N 88.349634°E / 22.57369; 88.349634
Construction started	1777
Opened	1780; 244 years ago (1780)
Owner	Government of West Bengal
Technical details
Floor count	3
Floor area	37850 Square Feet
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Thomas Lyon

The Writers' Buildings or Mahakaran, often shortened to just Writers', is the official secretariat building of the state government of West Bengal in Kolkata, India. The 150-metre long building covers the entire northern stretch of the Lal Dighi or Red Lake at the centre of historic B.B.D. Bagh, long considered as the administrative and business hub of the city.

It originally served as the principal administrative office for writers (junior clerks) of the British East India Company (EIC). Designed by Thomas Lyon in 1777, the Writers' Building has gone through a long series of extensions over the centuries. Since India's independence in 1947, it housed the office of the Chief Minister of West Bengal, cabinet ministers and other senior officials, until 4 October 2013, when a major restoration of the building was announced. The majority of government departments were subsequently moved out to a new re-purposed building named Nabanna in Howrah on a temporary basis.

The building has been called a mini-township of sorts with a built-up area of around 550,000 square feet. Before the shifting of the state secretariat, the building housed 34 departments of the state government, and served as the office for approximately 6,000 employees.^[1] As of October 2020,^[update] the renovation of the building continues.