MP for Mysuru’s growth in harmony with heritage; cautions against repeating Bengaluru’s mistakes

Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, MP for Mysuru, expressed support for the planned and organic growth of the city in harmony with its ethos of heritage and culture.

He was participating in a public interaction on ‘’Greater Mysuru or Greater Vision: What does the City Truly Need’’ organised by V.R. Trust on Sunday.

He said any city’s growth was inevitable, but warned that unplanned expansion in the case of Mysuru would irreversibly damage its heritage and liveability index.

Development of any city cannot be stopped, but its growth has to be organic and policy-driven and guided by a clear framework of how the city should develop, said Mr. Yaduveer.

He pointed out that Mysuru had already expanded well beyond the existing limits of the Mysuru City Corporation, with areas such as Bogadi, Kadakola and Koorgalli functioning as part of the city despite being outside the limits of the MCC. The question is not whether Mysuru should grow but what kind of city one would like Mysuru to be in the years ahead, Yaduveer  added.

The MP drew the attention to the situation in Bengaluru and said that the unbridled urbanization and development there surpassed any planning. and solutions were conceived as an afterthought.

 “We should not allow Mysuru to repeat the mistakes of Bengaluru’’, he said, stressing the need to provide facilities to citizens without compromising the city’s character.

Pointing out that Mysuru’s economic growth rate was relatively modest, the MP said planning should be realistic and aligned to the city’s strengths.

 The MP pointed out that the opinions on Greater Mysuru were sharply divided, and one section was supportive of it mainly due to expectations of a steep hike in property rates. “We are not against Greater Mysuru or development. We are against growth that compromises heritage and culture of the city,” he said.

Mr.Yaduveer called for preserving the core heritage zone of Mysuru and said that it should be non-negotiable. ‘’City’s heritage buildings gave Mysuru a unique identity and must be conserved. Beyond a five-km radius, a clear strategy on industries and services — including IT that could work in tandem with Bengaluru, tourism infrastructure such as hotels, and the promotion of medical tourism etc, could be conceived’’, Mr.Yaduveer added

The MP reiterated opposition to the proposed flyover from Metropole Circle, warning that it would lead to the felling of hundreds of trees around Kukkarahalli Lake and mar the heritage ambience

He urged citizens to learn from Bengaluru and ascertain whether construction of flyovers in that city had helped reduce traffic congestion at all. “We do not need development for the sake of development,” he said.

Chamaraja MLA K. Harish Gowda said the concept of expanding MCC limits was meant to plan for future growth, but flagged serious concerns over finances and manpower. He raised questions about funding, recruitment of additional staff, and called for an analysis of the MCC’s revenue against its expenditure before taking any call on Greater Mysuru.

Former Chief Secretary A. Ravindra; Prof. N.K.Lokanath, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Mysore; Dr. Sushrutha Gowda of CR Trust, and others were present.