BELAGAVI: With the Suvarna Vidhan Soudha in Belagavi completing 10 years of its existence on Tuesday, the mammoth structure, established as the second power centre of Karnataka, has become a white elephant for the state government. Despite spending Rs 5 crore on its maintenance each year, the government has been able to conduct legislature sessions here only for 80 days in the last 10 years.
For the sake formality, it appears, the government has been holding legislature sessions in the soudha for just 10 days a year. The continued demand from various quarters across North Karnataka to utilise the soudha effectively round-the-year has fallen on deaf ears.
The government, headed by then CM H D Kumaraswamy, had decided to construct the Suvarna Vidhan Soudha in Belagavi with the sole objective of holding a full-fledged winter session of the state legislature every year besides getting several important offices and departments shifted to the building. A whopping Rs 450 crore was spent on its construction on the 127 acre land in Halaga between 2007 and 2012.
According to sources, eight legislature sessions have been held in the soudha so far with each lasting not more than 10 days. The soudha remained shut for two years due to the Covid crisis. The office of Information Commissioner is the only state-level office located at the soudha. A huge sum is being spent on the maintenance of the gardens on its premises besides the power tariff, sources said.
Several people from North Karnataka region have criticised the government’s failure to utilise it effectively and said the public money is being squandered wastefully by the government on its maintenance. “Besides holding a full-fledged winter session of the legislature, the government should utilise the structure regularly to stop people’s money going down the drain,’’ said writer D S Chougale.
Politician M S Bagwan appealed to the government to make the winter sessions effective and result-oriented in the soudha.
Besides having discussions on major issues pertaining to the state, the sessions must also take important decisions to develop North Karnataka evenly, he added. A series of agitations have been staged over the past few years demanding complete utilisation of the soudha, but to no avail. The cost of this white elephant’s maintenance has been a huge Rs 50 crore in the last 10 years, according to sources.