Dear Shri Mantar Gowda,

Reference your call to me this morning. Here is a brief about the Kodava Heritage project at Madikeri:

In FY 2003-2004 the Union Ministry of Tourism, GOI, gave a Rs. 5 crore grant for development of Tourism in Kodagu district. It was the very first time ever in all these years that Kodagu district with great tourism potential was getting a development grant from GOI. Out of this grant, Rs. 1 crore was earmarked for the setting up of a Kodava Heritage Centre on the lines of a similar grant given for a Parsi Heritage Centre in Gujarat. I was the Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism at this time.

This matter was followed up five years later by me for grant of land for the Centre in Madikeri when I found that there was no movement on starting the project. I inspected some sites offered by the District authorities in Kodagu. Madikeri was selected as the location because of higher tourism footfalls there than any other location in the district. And land was granted opposite Mahindra Resort (also overlooking Mercara Golf course) in Galibeedu area.

GOK added on funds to the GOI grant and construction started. Mr. Prasad was the DC when construction got going and I had inspected the site. But once he got transferred nothing much moved and the contractor involved is facing a case for corruption. Unfortunately, this project has suffered because of apathy and corruption and got delayed across all these years.

When I brought up the subject again at GOI level, the then Secretary, Tourism, GOK, at Bangalore Mr. Pankaj Pandey took immediate action and the construction work was resumed. During the  time of Ms. Charulata Somal as DC, Kodagu, the construction was almost completed towards end 2021. My last visit to the site was when she took me around in Oct. 2021. I have since then been following up but nothing has moved further. In all these years I am surprised there has not been any committed follow up by any Kodava groups or political representatives or the District authorities in Coorg.

As I understand at the last review last year by the Secretary, Dept. of Tourism, GOK, there was a request for some Rs. 4 crore+ to complete the building, landscaping and fencing. This is perhaps pending with the Department of Finance, GOK. As for the way forward, some things that need to be noted are as follows:

1. Building must be inspected / certified for structural stability. Also made conducive for use as a museum by plastering the inside of laterite walls etc., considering the weather and pest infestation in Madikeri. Building must be occupied asap because leaving it empty like this will only harm the life of the building. And enhance the waste of public funds.

2. The museum needs to be curated. This curation will cost as much as the Thimayya Museum has cost and also take time. The DC, Coorg, had monitored the setting up of that museum.  I have personally initiated a project for a virtual museum on Kodava heritage and culture after collecting CSR funds. This website will be launched by end of this year. I am willing to cooperate with the information collected for this virtual museum to support the curation of the Centre if required. This can bring down the costs on curation of the museum.

3. GOK has to consider long term and annual maintenance of this Centre. The earlier Secretary, Department of Tourism, GOK, had suggested that JLR can take it over. As a profitable PSU in Karnataka they can support and sustain the maintenance as required. But it is not clear if they are willing to take in this responsibility.

4. The best is to manage it on a PPP model with a hospitality partner like the Taj or Mahindra. They are located in Madikeri, Kodagu (close to the Centre) and could manage and also sustain the annual maintenance with their CSR funds etc. This will need to be coordinated by the Department of Tourism in GOK.

5. Kodava Samajas or any established Kodava group can also come forward to maintain the Centre. However for any party or model of ownership and management as listed in points 4, 5, 6 herein there has to be a clear projection of annual maintenance costs etc. And whoever takes over must be able to raise such annual funding. The Thimayya Museum model will offer a lot of information on this issue. So planning and estimates on running the museum can be done accordingly.

6. There are many other issues to be addressed. But if the initial issues can be sorted out and the museum can get going at least by April of 2024 it will be a great achievement. It will be the fruition of a project that has languished for almost 20 years. If there is any advice or help you need to get this project going, do let me know. I would be happy to help as a Kodavati proud of my home land.

With regards,

Rathi Jha