City's Mini Vidhana Soudha still in maze

Work on compound and furniture underway; to be completed soon, say PWD sources

While the inauguration of Suvarna Vidhana Soudha at Belgaum brought cheers among the people of North Karnataka region, Mysore’s pride Mini Vidhana Soudha (MVS) is clogged in uncertainty.

The MVS constructed on the lines of Vidhana Soudha in Bngalore, was expected to be inaugurated at the beginning of the year. However, we are at the fag end of the year, a decision is yet to be taken on dedicating the building and bringing most of the government departments under one roof.

In the month of July, a proposal of Rs 1.20 crore had been sent to the state government for construction of compound and landscaping. The proposal also included new furniture for the building. PWD sources revealed that work on construction of compound and installing furniture are underway. They expect the work to be completed in another one-and-half months.

Repeated attempts to contact district in-charge minister S A Ramdas regarding the issue turned futile.

The MVS is located on the Government Guest House-Theobald road in Nazarbad and would host offices including that of tahsildar, sub-registrar and taluk panchayat. The
The Mini Vidhana Soudha stands on an area of two acres and three guntas, where the  tahsildar’s office was functioning in a century-old dilapidated building. Eight years ago, the old structure was pulled down to make way for the Mini Vidhana Soudha. The state government approved the Mini Vidhana Soudha project in 2004 itself at an estimated cost of Rs six crore.

Owing to delay and changes in the design, the total cost of  was revised to Rs 8.2 crore in 2011.  The chief architect had suggested that the building be given a heritage look, so several modifications were made in the initial plan.

The three-storeyed building is built on a plinth area of 1981 sq m. The cellar, meant exclusively for parking, can accommodate up to 30 cars and 150 two-wheelers. The building is said to be disabled-friendly too with a ramp at the entrance and lifts and separate toilets.

According to sources, the sub-registrar’s office would be housed on the ground floor, whereas the tahsildar’s office and taluk panchayat office will be located on the first and second floor. The third floor has a council hall for the taluk panchayat.