Centre approves Mysore CDP under JNNURM project

Mysore, Oct 20 (UNI) The Union Government has approved the Mysore city development plan under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and the first instalment of Rs 45 crore for the project was likely to be cleared soon.

Deputy Commissioner S Selva Kumar told UNI that he had submitted a report to develop the city during his recent visit to New Delhi.

In the first phase, the project would take up upgradation of 20 slums in the city, benefitting about 4,500 families. The authorities were now preparing a plan for augmenting the facilities in other slums. The Slum Board would take up the work and the Union Government would then reimburse all the amount, he added.

Mysore was one among the seven cities selected by the Centre for implementing the JNNURM in seven years at a cost of Rs 900 crore.

Mr Kumar said the other pending proposals, including overhauling drinking water pipelines at an estimated cost of Rs 98 crore and the Kabini dinking water supply scheme costing Rs 90 crore to overcome drinking water scarcity here, would be approved in next few days.

He said the revised City Development Plan (CDP) of Mysore admitted that the financial position of the Mysore City Corporation was not robust and it was functioning with a deficit budget.

The revised CDP, submitted to the Urban Development Ministry, noted that the future lay in carrying out fiscal reforms such as reforms in property tax collection. The CDP was revised following directives from the National Institute of Urban Affairs, New Delhi, as the original CDP was faulted for not analysing the existing situation, but focusing more on vision, projects and financial plans, he added.

The revised CDP dwelt upon the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats, stating tourism as its strength, and land development and encroachment of lung space, proliferation of commercial structures and demand for additional land by the IT and BT sectors as weaknesses.

Mr Kumar pointed out that the challenge lay in enhancing the efficiency of tax collection through property tax reforms, better utilisation of assets and land in an appropriate manner to generate revenue, and levying additional cess such as solid waste cess, impact fee for new development, parking revenue and encouraging private participation wherever possible.

He said the comprehensive development plan of the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) was faulted for merely documenting the land use pattern and not addressing the city's needs in terms of economic planning.

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