Suvarna Soudha in Belgaum turning out to be a mere white elephant

Suvarna Soudha, constructed here at the cost of Rs 391 crore and gearing up to hold second session in coming November, has failed to meet expectations of people of North Karnataka region.

When then chief minister HD Kumaraswamy announced of constructing a Soudha on the lines of Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore, people had expected that it would be an alternative centre of administration for the region.

Inaugurated by president Pranab Mukherjee on October 11, 2012, the soudha lacks the hustle bustle that marks the original Soudha at Bangalore. Even after debut session in Nov-Dec 2012, the government is dithering over shifting of some offices to the Suvarna Soudha.

With a built-up in area of 60,398 sqm, an Assembly hall of 300 sitting capacity and a Council hall of 100-seat capacity.

Ashok Halagali, an RTI activist, says the Soudha is useless for the region as no administrative activity takes place in the building that has central hall of 450 seats.

“As many as 38 ministerial chambers and 14 meeting halls in the Soudha are turning into havens for insects and spiders. Though the Soudha was built with the intention of countering Maharashtra’s cultural and linguistic push in the region and giving the population a sense of belonging to Karnataka, the government has completely forgotten the aim,” Halagali said.

Advocate CO Patil pointed out that the cost of maintenance of the Soudha - Rs 20-30 lakh per month could have been better used to construct houses for the flood-affected population in recent years.

“Rs 391 lakh is already spent from public exchequer on Suvarna Soudha and now the Public Works department is thinking of spending an additional Rs 40 crore to tighten security for the building. One has to make sure that the money is well spent. Otherwise, it might become a white elephant.”
Shankar Langati, a progressive farmer in Gundenatti village in Belgaum district, noted that Suvarna Soudha had been of no use for the public.

“We just see from a distance a huge building 10 km away from the city off the Bangalore-Mumbai National Highway-4, but we never heard how it is used, nor have the people allowed to visit it,” he said.

Successive state governments, regardless of their party affiliations, have stonewalled requests from elected representatives from the region to shift some government departments to the Soudha to make it existence meaningful. Lok Sabha member from Belgaum Suresh Angadi, who in December 2012 urged the government to shift some departments to the Soudha to maintain it in working condition, is yet to receive a positive response.