Draft:Chowdareddy

• 
  Caption1
• 
  Caption2

Sri Choudareddy (born 21 February 1937) is an Indian politician, industrialist and social reformer from Chintamani, Karnataka. He served multiple terms as the Member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly for Chintamani , held ministerial portfolios including Urban Development and Home Affairs (early 1990s), and initiated several large civic, educational and religious projects, most prominently the Mahakailasagiri cave-temple project near Ambajidurga.

Early life and career

Born to M.C.Anjaneya Reddy and Shri Kempamma, Sri Choudareddy studied locally and obtained a B.A. from St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore. After industrial training at HMT, he founded an ancillary manufacturing enterprise (Sri Venkateshwara Enterprises) before entering politics in the early 1970s. He married Shanthamma in 1965 and is the father of two sons, Dr. M. C. Balaji and Dr.M. C. Sudhakar (the latter is a current-generation politician).

Electoral and ministerial career

Sri Choudareddy’s political trajectory included: • Legislative representation: Elected as MLA from Chintamani for several terms beginning in 1972 (initially as an independent and later as a Congress candidate), with subsequent re-elections during the 1970s–1990s period.

• Ministerial roles: He served as Urban Development Minister (1993–94) in Veerappa Moily’s cabinet and later as Home Minister (1994–95) in the same administration. During his tenure he expedited numerous municipal project approvals and was associated with the early establishment of the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC) concept and process for mobilizing finance for urban projects in the state (KUIDFC was incorporated in November 1993).

Development initiatives and institutions

Sri Choudareddy led or facilitated multiple civic and cooperative projects:

• Cooperatives and dairying: Support for district dairy and chilling centers, organizing milk producers’ cooperatives and improving cold-chain capacity for local milk producers.

• Education and social infrastructure: Founding and promoting educational institutions such as Kishore Vidyabhavan (established 1972) and other municipal colleges and hostels; promoting primary and secondary school expansion across rural habitations.

• Markets, transport and civic facilities: Relocation and development of modern vegetable/fruit wholesale markets, construction of traveller’s bungalows and bus/transport terminals, street lighting and major road upgrades.

Mahakailasagiri (Gangadhareśvara) cave-temple project

One of Sri Choudareddy’s signature projects was the conceptualization and promotion of a rock-cut / cave temple complex at Ambajidurga near Chintamani (often referred to locally as Mahakailasagiri). The project includes:

•A carved Chaturmukha (four-faced) Linga, a large monolithic Shiva (Gangadhareśvara) form planned as a 108-foot element, and a Girija-Kalyana mandapa carved into the rock shelter. The project is administered through the Sri Gangadhareśvara Seva Trust and incorporates large-scale temple excavations, annadana services and related pilgrim facilities. Local accounts describe the complex as a modern, large scale rock-cut temple inspired by classical cave-temple traditions.

Language, social justice and communal harmony

Sri Choudareddy continued his family’s emphasis on social service across religious communities; he supported Urdu-language schools for Muslim children alongside broader policies promoting Kannada as the state administrative and cultural language. He also promoted housing and land allotments to weaker sections and used municipal powers to create civic amenities for marginal communities.

Legacy

Sri Choudareddy’s tenure is associated with rapid municipal modernization, institution-building (education, markets, cooperative dairies), and a high-profile religious-cultural project (the cave temple). The political and civic institutions he helped to create have had lasting influence on Chintamani’s urban profile. His son, Dr.M. C. Sudhakar, has continued the family’s public service and appears on public records and in national/state political listings.