The Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) had hired the Ahmedabad-based SAI Consultants for preparing the Master Plan 2031 and the government released the three-volume draft document in August 2012.
As per the original draft plan, the projected time horizon for the document is 2031, to cater to a projected population of 23 lakh.
Once notified, 117 villages – including 84 in Mysore taluk, 19 in Nanjangud taluk and 14 in Srirangapatna taluk of Mandya district – will come under the purview of the Master Plan. Consequently, the area coming under the planning process will spread from 495 sq km at present to 509.33 sq km.
As per the plan, 32 per cent of land would be marked for residential areas. The percentage of land left for open spaces, parks and playgrounds was less than 5 per cent of the available land.
The key objective of the master plan was to promote Mysuru as an investment destination for non-polluting activities and knowledge-based industries like information technology, biotechnology, service sectors and tourism. Conserving the natural characteristics of the city through development regulations was also envisaged.
The original objective had plans for mono or metro rail, peripheral roads with suitable linkages to surrounding settlements and measures to prevent misuse of natural landscapes like water bodies and hills.
Skewed projections
But some of the projections made in the plan have become invalid even before its official notification. For instance, no area was proposed for industrial use as the planners envisaged that there was adequate land with the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Authority (KIADB). The government is now trying to acquire additional land to create a new industrial area near Hootagalli-Metagalli area.
The plan had suggested an eco-development district and had objected to the MUDA’s site development plan at Lalitadrinagar to conserve the ecological integrity of Chamundi Hills. However, plot developments by both MUDA and private players have become common around Chamundi Hills. There is no land for mono rail while the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) was increased in the city centre and frozen on the outskirts.
