In a bid to trigger faster growth, the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) is toying with the idea of partial commercial and residential development instead of allotment of vacant plots in the future.
This will be a break from convention. MUDA will develop and allot sites. However, it will take decades before construction and habitation begins on the areas in question.
A senior official in MUDA told The Hindu that the authority was considering the idea of a mixed development pattern wherein it would construct a few ready-to-occupy houses besides commercial complexes so that site allottees are encouraged to take up new construction at the earliest.
“This will expedite growth and serve the larger purpose for which sites are allotted,” said the official. There is a general consensus among officials that the areas will witness economic and commercial vibrancy and be a positive factor facilitating growth.
Though in a conceptual stage, MUDA wants to switch to the new approach based on its experience of lack of development in Vijayanagar 3rd and 4th stages where it took more than 20 years for growth to gain traction.
This is also true in case of Dattagalli and surrounding areas that remained vacant for years after site allotment even though the area is witnessing a construction boom at present consequent to the completion of the Outer Ring Road. The MUDA has broadly identified 3 to 4 places where the mixed development pattern could be pursued.
But given MUDA’s track record in development of new layouts, it will be a few years before the concept takes shape. It is also pertinent to note that the MUDA itself has very few new layouts coming up in the city and the concept would be meaningful if it was extended to private developers as well. For, out of nearly 45 layouts transferred by the MUDA to MCC, almost 40 were private.
However, the official said making mixed development mandatory calls for an amendment of the law and the introduction of a new by-law. This is a laborious process given the involvement of politicians and elected representatives in plot development.
