The raging controversy over alleged irregularities in site allotment by Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) is likely to result in the reconstitution of the board whose members at present are legislators.
In reply to a question, the Mysuru district in charge Minister H.C. Mahadevappa said here on Sunday that this was one of the suggestions made to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah that the MUDA board has to be reconstituted by bringing in an amendment to the existing law governing its affairs.
Earlier there were only three members and now every legislator is part of the board, hence a reconstitution of the MUDA board to revert to its original format is likely, Mr. Mahadevappa added.
Incidentally, the functioning of the MUDA has been under the scanner for years as many of the board members are either MLAs or MLCs who tend to be real estate players and there is a conflict of interest. Even the chairman is a political appointee and many of them in the recent past are deeply involved in real estate.
Many NGOs and citizen activists have been calling for appointment of persons with impeccable credentials to be part of the MUDA board to represent public interest and ensure transparency but such pleas have been ignored.
The current controversy over illegal allotment of sites under the 50:50 scheme has brought fresh traction to the demand for reconstitution of the MUDA Board. There is a perception building that a scam of such a magnitude could not have taken place without the knowledge of the board members and hence its credibility is at an all-time low now.
MUDA is the erstwhile City Improvement Trust Board (CITB) that was constituted in 1904 during the regime of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar to ensure the planned development of Mysuru. The CITB was renamed MUDA in 1988 and though it is meant to acquire land and develop sites for distribution to the applicants, it has been accused of discarding its responsibility and prioritising the requirements of private developers over the public interest. It is reckoned that there are nearly 100,000 site applicants before MUDA many of whom have been waiting for site allotment since decades.
