BELAGAVI: The Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, often panned for being a drain on the state’s resources, may soon generate enough funds for its upkeep.
The government pays nearly Rs 5 crore in annual maintenance charges for this elegant structure, built at a cost of Rs 400 crore.
It now plans to utilise the building to hold events and for academic activities. It also hopes to be able to rent out the space to private institutions for a fee.
In 2007, the BJP government decided to construct the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, a replica of Vidhana Soudha, on 127 acres in Halaga Bastwad village on the Huballi-Pune national highway.
With a total built-up area of 60.398 sq metres, the four-storied structure has turned now into a white elephant as it remains closed for most of the year and functions for a maximum of only 20 days during the monsoon and winter sessions.
The PWD Building division (North) that maintains it now wants to develop a garden on the lines of an amusement park so that tourists and visitors can enjoy the premises by paying a nominal fee.
It also plans to open
up the meeting and banquet halls for conferences and training programmes of government departments and educational institutes. As a result, government departments may have to stop organising events in hotels and private colleges.
The PWD is also likely to come out with a blueprint to utilise the existing infrastructure to hold departmental exhibitions.
When contacted, PWD Minister H C Mahadevappa said the government would develop the Suvarna Soudha park on the lines of the Brindavan Gardens.
With this, they can generate around Rs 4-5 crore per annum that can be used to maintain it.
He said the government cannot shift its offices here as the building was not designed to accommodate offices Besides, it wants to uphold the ‘sanctity’ of the Suvarana Soudha. Mahadevappa said they will soon decide on renting out the conference halls.
He said he would soon hold talks with experts and with the district administration on how to generate revenue for the government using the building.
Opposition leader Jagadish Shettar welcomed the government’s move, and said he also supported the development of an amusement park there.
Shettar said it was his proposal to have a central hall in the Suvarana Soudha on the lines of the central hall in Parliament.
“I will talk to MP Prabhakar Kore and others running educational institutions to make use of the building,” he said.
However, RTI activist Bhimappa Gadag has opposed any move to invest further in the Suvarna Soudha. He said developing a park to make a picnic spot around Suvarana Soudha would not serve any purpose.
“Who will go 10 km out of Belagavi shelling out money for transportation and also towards entry fee?” he asked. Instead, shifting a few offices related to agriculture, sugar and others would help the people of North Karnataka, he said.