Authority plans to develop a few layouts on the outskirts of Mysore

On account of lack space in the main city, the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) has proposed new layouts on the periphery of the Mysore city. 

The proposed new layouts of MUDA include the extension of Swarna Jayanti Nagar,  Lalitadri Nagar 2nd stage, Nalwudi Krishnaraja Wadiyar Nagar, Shanthaveri Gopalagowda Nagar 2nd Stage, Lalitadrinagar north phase and Balahalli Layout.

The MUDA’s plans were enunciated in its budget for 2013-14 unveiled last week and the authority has already submitted plans for approval from the government.

The final administrative approval for MUDA’s proposed plans is expected in due course. In anticipation of the approval, the authority has earmarked Rs. 37.67 crore for the development of these layouts.

Swarna Jayanti Nagar, Lalitadrinagar and Shanthaveri Gopalagowda Nagar have been locked into the city landscape since the last few years and are being developed by the MUDA, the inclusion of Balahalli which is about 17 km from the city.

The new localities - including the Rabindranath Tagore Nagar which is mired in a legal dispute - are adjoining the Outer Ring Road, where a slew of private property developers have new apartment projects in the pipeline.

Many of these developments are concentrated close to ORR and along the Mysore–Hunsur Road, Mysore–H.D. Kote Road, Mysore–Bannur Road, Mysore–T. Narsipur Road.

CREDAI’s argument

Though the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI), Mysore chapter, has sought designated high-rise areas close to the city to promote vertical growth so as to check the city’s horizontal sprawl, the authorities have ignored it.

Given the current backlog of nearly 1.47 lakh site applications before the MUDA, the CREDAI has argued that promoting vertical growth could be an ideal solution as customised plots for nearly 1.5 lakh people cannot be met by any government agency.

Stakeholders such as CREDAI has said that real estate activity in Mysore may gather fresh steam in the days ahead due to MUDA’s plans of new residential layouts for future. But it also underlines the need for a fresh look at the present policy of freezing or limiting vertical growth in the city.

Track-doubling

The demand for housing is expected to increase with the improvement in city’s connectivity with Bangalore and the consequent growth of industry due to the imminent completion of track-doubling work between Mysore and Bangalore.

This will expected to usher in a demographic change in Mysore with more number of people commuting between the two cities, thus driving the demand for housing. But, in the absence of a clear-cut policy, Mysore’s outer boundaries, as indicated by the inclusion of Balahalli for development, will continue to stretch, gobbling up large swathes of agricultural land in the process.