The Suvarna Vidhana Soudha is a legislative building in the Belagavi district of Karnataka.
From Initial to Legacy: The Significance of Suvarna Vidhana Soudha.
The Suvarna Vidhana Soudha was inaugurated on 11th October, 2012 by the Former President of India Late Pranab Mukherjee. The Soudha is the seat of Karnataka’s Legislative Assembly in Belagavi. It is also known as the Golden Legislative House.
It is the 2nd largest legislative Assembly building of the Government of Karnataka . The Suvarna Vidhana Soudha has been named to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Karnataka’s Formation Day and serves as an alternate legislative assembly for the state.
Structural Grandeur of Suvarna Vidhana Soudha:
The four floored structure of the building includes a total built up area of 60,397 square metres. It consists of an Legislative Assembly hall that seats 300 legislators , a councilor’s assembly hall for 100 council members, a 450 seat Central Hall, 38 ministerial chambers and 14 meeting halls. It also has provisions for conference halls, a banquet hall, and a secretariat for both the house of legislature, meeting halls and office accommodations with state of the art facilities and best amenities.
This massive piece of architecture is a contemporary iconic landmark and the entire campus is spread over a sprawling 127 acres of land.
The entire complex is situated on 51 hectares of land that was acquired from farmers in the area. The design of Suvarna Vidhana Soudha is influenced by British, Indo-Islamic, and Dravidian Style of Architecture which is the main context of the region.
The facade of the building has the motto ‘Work is Worship‘ which means Kayekave Kailasa given by 12th century poet and social reformer Basavanna inscribed on it.
The Ashoka Chakra, which is a symbol of the India state, sits atop the main dome of the building which measures around 3.68 meters by 2.11 meters and weighing 6.50 Tones was created by the V T N Creative Art Studio in Bangalore.
The elevation of the building has a rhythemic pattern of windows that is evidence feature of many government buildings in India. The huge flock of stairs at the entrance makes the Saudha grander and gives a sense of power and strength.
A Glimpse Into the Past of Suvarna Vidhana Soudha:
The Suvarna Vidhana Soudha was constructed as a part of Karnataka’s reiteration of its control over Belagavi district in its inter state rivalry with Maharashtra for control of the district. While the Vidhana Soudha originally had to come up at Tilakwadi, it was subsequently relocated to its present location at the Halga Bastwad area of Belagavi.
In the year 2007,the Bhoomi puja for the original building was performed by Kunaraswamy, the former Chief Minister of Karnataka. While his successor, Yeddyurappa performed the puja for the construction of the building at its new venue in the year 2009.
In August 2009, the work began on the building which was completed within 18 months, with an original budget of ₹ 2.30 billion. The contract of the building to be constructed was given to the Pune based B. G Shirke Construction Technology Private Limited for construction. The contract for interior design and service consultancy was awarded to Gajbar and Associates, headed by Ar. Vijay Gajbar from Belagavi and Kolhapur. They were entrusted with the interior design of all the halls and auditoriums inside the building. Additionally, they also provided design consultancy for outer landscape and MEP design.
By August 2012,the cost of the building alone had reached ₹391 crore with an estimation of suggested final bill of nearly ₹5 billion (US $100 million) on its completion. The inauguration ceremony itself has been billed at ₹150 million.
On the 67th Independence Day on 15th August 2013, the National Flag was unfurles by the Deputy Commissioner in the Soudha.
The Suvarna Soudha holds a session of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly every year, and has been criticized as an extravagance as the building will only be used once a year to hold a session of the Legislative Assembly.
However, the Government of Karnataka suggested that the building with the host legislative committee and regional meetings of the state government and conferences and various meetings with foreign delegations, when the legislative session is not held there.
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