Amidst reports about a proposal to spend Rs 26 crore to mark the 60th anniversary of the Vidhana Soudha, the seat of the state legislature, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today issued directions for curtailing funding for the event, officials said.
Assembly Speaker K B Koliwad and Council Chairman D H Shankaramurthy today met the chief minister at his residence after reports of the legislature secretariat sending the proposal to the Finance Department stirred a controversy.
The proposal allegedly also involved gifting gold biscuits to legislators and silver plate to employees.
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Stating that Siddaramaiah has refused sanctioning Rs 26 crore for the event, officials from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said he has issued directions to complete the event under Rs 10 crore.
The chief minister hassaid there should be no gifts for legislators and has issued directions to curtail the celebrations from two days to one day, they said.
Clarifying on the expensive gift controversy, Koliwad had yesterday said there was no proposal to gift gold biscuits to legislators and silver plates to secretariat employees to celebrate the diamond jubilee, as was reported by a section of the media.
President Ram Nath Kovind will address the special joint session of the Karnataka legislature on October 25, to commemorate the diamond jubilee.
An official release issued on October 10 had listed out a stream of events on October 25 and 26 to celebrate the occasion, following the president's address.
Among those events are: a special discussion on the state's history, its land, water, resources and nature and cultural programmes, along with screening of special documentaries by Directors Girish Kasaravalli and T N Seetharam on the construction of the Vidhana Soudha and the Karnataka legislature.
The foundation for the Vidhana Soudha, considered to be among the most imposing buildings in the country, was laid by Jawaharalal Nehru as prime minister on July 13,1951, and was completed in 1956, at a cost of about Rs 1.84 crore.
Built in a 'Neo-Dravidian' style of architecture, Vidhana Soudha is spread over 60 acres and houses the Legislative Assembly and Council chambers, along with the offices of chief minister, prominent ministers, and senior government officers.
The majestic structure, built largely with "Bangalore granite", was the brainchild of Kengal Hanumanthaiya and has grand stairs in the front, a central dome supported by eight pillars and six smaller domes as its attraction.
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