I have known Mysore City rather closely since early 1970s and I have been living here since 1976. What was a sleepy town, growing at a slow pace, has now become a city of 10 lakh population, elevated to the status of a City Corporation to manage its affairs with the corresponding problems of ineffective administration and inadequate infrastructure.
Every time a new, modern plan is envisaged for the MUDA layouts (earlier CITB), the politician would butt-in and spoil the vision of the planners. What is Vijayanagar layout today with so many stages and phases, was originally conceived after a Swiss model where there would be more open space around houses with greenery — lawns and selected tree species — and sans restrictive boundary compound walls. The first plan of this project must still be in the dark recesses of MUDA archives.
See what shape and form Vijayanagar layouts have assumed today. Same is the fate of all new layouts formed by MUDA and private bodies — individuals, firms and societies. All the terms and conditions laid down by MUDA for itself and for the private players are observed more in their breach than compliance. As a result the roads are bad, Under Ground Drainage (UGD), being buried under ground, God knows how good they are, water supply is simply not there for many, street lights are there to help the nocturnal cat-burglars and worse, and site owners are often harassed for obvious reasons. One wonders if Civic Amenities (CA) sites and park lands are not encroached upon or allotted arbitrarily for purposes other than what they are reserved for.
The advent of private players in acquiring lands and forming layouts has to a large measure reduced the burden of MUDA, nay has made MUDA redundant. Thanks to our greedy politicians. All the politicians belonging to all the political parties have the same mindset and ideology in this regard. There is no difference of opinion on this issue at all! These days MUDA is playing only an apologetic minor role in pro-viding houses or house sites to the local citizens on “no loss - no profit” basis at a very reasonable, affordable cost. This is in sharp contrast to the prohibitive cost at which private players sell their sites.
If MUDA does not have enough sites, it is good for the private developers. So, strangulate MUDA. The government keeps pending indefinitely all the acquisition and layout proposals of MUDA while the private developers are busy getting their lands denotified, wherever necessary, and selling sites happily and rushing to Banks smiling. Certainly there is a nexus between our politicians and the private players. As a result, the agricultural land and urban land prices have skyrocketed and owning a house site has become beyond the reach of middle and the higher-middle class local citizens. No wonder, outsiders coming from other States, even Delhi, are buying these sites and also agricultural lands in and around Mysore city.
The newly - laid four - lane Expressway and doubling of railway between Bangalore and Mysore no doubt encouraged these land sharks to grab land while the prices are affordable for them. Once the Mandakalli Airport is ready, we can expect the price to shoot through the roof, if it has not already happened.
Politicians are busy making hay while sun shines. They buy - up land through their “agents” in thousands of acres. They notify poor farmers' lands as needed for “public purpose” and then take bribe to denotify them. Probably, these politicians invest this bribe money to buy land from the poor farmers either directly or through “agents”. It is very important for some NGO to conduct a survey of lands notified (with malafide intention) and lands that were denotified to benefit a land developer. The truth, as also the enormity, of the scam could thus be exposed.
The important question is: Why did the Government encourage private land developers in our city and other cities when there is an Urban Development Authority? Is it to favour the private players? It is, however, understandable that private builders of apartments are encouraged in urban centres. But is it wise to throw the middle class citizens to the marauding layout-developer wolves? Only a leader like D. Devaraj Urs would think about the middle class and poor of the society in matters such as this. The future government of the State should do a re-think on this very important issue and take corrective steps by way of regulating the site value of these private layout owners bringing the price nearer to what the MUDA is charging. Some hope this. Alternatively, NGOs should ask the political parties to incorporate such measures in their election manifesto and educate the voters, to the extent possible, to vote only to such parties. But then, are our elections fought on principles, ideologies or programmes? Sadly money plays the dominant role.
Unfortunately, our city does not have politicians with an abiding love for this royal city, heritage city, a tourist city and a city of knowledge. Which is why we don't have an airport, we don't have a NICE road, we don't have a double track railway, we don't have good city roads, nothing. Can you imagine a politician, a people's representative, writing to the Irrigation Department engineers and officials to allow the land developers to close the RBLL channel on Mysore - Bangalore road? Is he people's representative or the representative of the land developer?
It is not surprising, therefore, the city could not so far get the funds under JNNURM project of the Central government. After P. Manivannan's arrival there is some hope.
Part 1 | Part 2
