Belgaum, Sep 27 (IANS) The Karnataka government has decided to make the border town of Belgaum the second capital of the state and build a full-fledged secretariat for administering the northern districts.

"Besides holding the joint legislative session every year, we will build a mini Vidhana Soudha (state secretariat) in Belgaum to facilitate speedy socio-economic development of north Karnataka," Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy told reporters here Tuesday.

"The cabinet will take a final decision soon on the modalities, including funds and manpower required to make Belgaum the second capital of Karnataka. We hope to make a formal announcement Nov 1, coinciding with the state's formation day," he said.

When the proposal is implemented, Karnataka will be third state in the country after Maharashtra (Nagpur) and Jammu and Kashmir (Jammu) to have a second capital for legislative and executive functions.

In the run-up, the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coalition government has began holding a five-day joint legislative session here since Monday for the first time outside the state's capital Bangalore.

"Though successive governments in the past have promised to do a lot for the 12 of the 28 districts in the state, which form north Karnataka, we are committed to develop the region, including Belgaum, which is an integral part of the state," Kumaraswamy said on the sidelines of the ongoing assembly session.

"Resources will not be a constraint as the region has immense natural and human resources to grow rapidly."

Earlier, making a suo moto statement in the legislative council, Education Minister Basavaraj Horatti told the members the demand for making Belgaum the second capital with a full-fledged secretariat and legislature had been pending for long.

"Since the status of Belgaum as part of Karnataka was settled long ago (1967) by the Mahajan Commission report, there is a consensus among the ruling and opposition parties to realise the dream and set right the regional imbalance," Horatti said.

Located 550 km from Bangalore in the northwestern region of the state, bordering Maharashtra, Belgaum is one of the oldest cities in Karnataka.

Situated about 800 metres above sea-level, the 12th century bustling city of 0.5 million people is known for its salubrious climate and rich cultural diversity, with three languages - Kannada, Marathi and Konkani spoken fluently.

Apart from being an important training centre for the Indian armed forces, Belgaum houses many interesting monuments, including a scenic fort dating to 1512 AD. It is also an important educational centre, and hosts the Viseswaraiah Technological University (VTU), to which all the engineering colleges in Karnataka are affiliated.

Belgaum has also several large industries, important among them are INDAL Aluminium and Polyhydron Ltd. The city acts as a trade centre for food grains, sugarcane, cotton, tobacco, oilseed, and milk products. Industries include leather, clay, pottery, soap, cotton and precious metals.

The power-loom sector provides employment to thousands of weavers. The hydraulic industry started here was the first of its kind in the country.