Bengaluru: In a major climb down, presiding officers of the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council agreed to a moderate budget of Rs. 10 crore as against Rs. 26 crore proposed earlier for celebrations to mark the Diamond Jubilee of  Vidhana Soudha.

The Legislature Secretariat had submitted a proposal for celebrations spread over two days — Oct. 25 and 26 — with a budget of Rs. 26 crore, but Speaker K.B. Koliwad and Chairman D.H. Shankaramurthy had no choice but shrink the budget to Rs. 10 crore and celebrations for one day following a meeting with Chief Minister Siddharamaiah yesterday.

The Chief Minister, who also holds the Finance portfolio, said that officials had rejected the elaborate celebrations proposed on two days to mark 60 years of construction of Vidhana Soudha.

Official sources said that Siddharamaiah reportedly told the presiding officers it would not be appropriate to hold extravagant celebrations when many people lost their lives in torrential downpour across the State during last month.

Koliwad, however, declined to disclose details about the celebrations. When his attention was drawn to Siddharamaiah’s statement that the Finance Department would release only Rs. 10 crore, Koliwad remarked: “We will organise the function with funds to be released by the Finance Department.”

In response to another query, he clarified that celebrations would be restricted to a one-day affair while the schedule for second day would be cancelled.