An effort is being made to ensure that the New Anubhava Mantapa project at Basavakalyan in Bidar district — which had played a role in the mobilisation of Lingayat votes in favour of the BJP in the byelections to Basavakalyan and Maski Assembly constituencies and Belagavi Lok Sabha constituency held on April 17, 2021 — plays a role ahead of the Assembly elections next year too.
The government has given its administrative approval to the revised estimate of ₹612 crore for the project on Monday. Sources in the Basavakalyan Development Board (BKDB), assigned the task of implementing the project, said that the work order for the project would be issued on Thursday to the Pune-based B.G. Shirke Construction Pvt. Ltd.
“Since the foundation stone was already laid in January 2021 by the then Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, we are not following those formalities again. We will issue the work order to the contractor on Thursday and he would start the work on Friday,” Mr. Govinda Reddy, Deputy Commissioner of Bidar, told The Hindu.
The officer said that the BKDB had 64 acres of the land in its procession for the project. The project is to be completed in three years. The BKDB has already received ₹200 crore which would be sufficient for almost one year. The government has assured that it would release the amount as the work progresses,” Mr. Reddy said.
The project, which envisages a magnificent structure to showcase the 12th century Anubhava Mantapa, which is claimed to be the first Parliament of the world established in Basavakalyana (then called Kalyana), where Sharanas (poets and socio-spiritual reformers) deliberated for reforms, was first mooted by Siddaramaiah-headed Congress government in 2016. The Go.Ru. Channabasappa Committee constituted for the purpose submitted its project report in September 2017 at a cost of ₹600.44 crore.
Though the project got Cabinet nod in September 2019, it remained in cold storage till January 2021 when Mr. Yediyurappa hurriedly laid the foundation stone for it without the approved project report or the budgetary allocations for it, apparently with an eye on the byelections that were to be held a few months later. It was only in March 2021 that the project got a partial allocation of ₹200 crore in the Budget he presented.
The BKDB submitted its revised estimate of ₹612 crore for the project on May 7, which was approved by the government on May 30.
As per the project prepared by Go. Ru. Channabasappa Committee, the component of the project is a six-floor magnificent building to be built in circular shape adopting the Kalyana Chalukya style of architecture. The 182-feet-high structure, standing on an 1,884-feet circumference, was designed to be supported by 770 pillars and house a mega auditorium having a seating capacity of 770 people – symbolising the 770 Sharanas who led the Vachana reformist movement in the 12th century.
“The project prepared by the Go. Ru. Channabasappa Committee is taken for implementation without any changes,” Mr. Reddy said.
