Five years after laying the foundation stone, work on the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Research and Study Centre campus is yet to take off.
Though tenders have been called thrice, none were finalised and work orders issued, and the project is now pending before Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai for approval of escalation of costs.
The Siddaramaiah-led government initiated the project and granted 3 acres of land on the Jnanabharathi campus of Bangalore University and earmarked ₹50 crore for the project, through the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
Pitched as a project to woo the politically significant Vokkaliga community ahead of the 2018 Assembly polls, the Congress government got Nirmalanandanatha Swamy, seer of Adichunchanagiri Mutt, to lay the foundation stone in September, 2017.
Since then, the State has seen three governments and four Chief Ministers, but the project is yet to take off.
Sources said BBMP has called tenders for the works thrice since 2017 and the same firm has been selected as the final bidder. But the firm has always quoted the cost to be much higher than ₹50 crore, the allotted cost for the project, citing inflation in construction materials and labour costs, derailing the tenders.
The lockdowns and labour crisis has also delayed the project, sources said.
Minister for Higher Education C.N. Ashwath Narayan told The Hindu that all the technical problems relating to the tender process were recently resolved and the file was pending before the Chief Minister for approval, and once it is approved, it would be sped up.
Sources said a file seeking the Finance Department and the Bengaluru Development Department’s approval for escalation of costs had been put up before the Chief Minister.
N. Shaik Masthan, Director, Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Research and Study Centre, said they were presently working out of a temporary accommodation in Bangalore University.
“Over the last five years, we have conducted a study of lakes built by Kempe Gowda and his descendants in and around the city, and did a study on social developments during his tenure. The centre has also taken up field visits to dig out inscriptions related to Kempe Gowda and his family,” he said.
