It has been reported in the media that Mysore City Corporation has stopped the construction of a building being built by the Railways at the railway station because it does not have a building licence from MCC. MCC has to be congratulated for this act. Each city has a comprehensive development plan for its orderly growth and it is the duty of MCC and MUDA to see that alll development in the city and all buildings follow this plan. If everyone starts building according to his whims and fancies contrary to this plan, the city will lose its beauty. This is especially true for a "heritage" city such as Mysore.
But various arms of the central and state governments seem to feel that the comprehensive development plan of Mysore does not apply to them. With a "Why should we bow down to MCC?" attitude, they do not bother getting building licences or completion reports from MCC. For example, the choultry built by the Railways near Venkataramana Swamy Temple on KRS Road does not have either the building licence or the CR. Similarly, the Mysore University buildings behind Crawford Hall and in front of Yuvaraja College do not have a licence or a CR. MCC has confirmed these facts. It is also doubtful if the University Guest House on Fire Brigade Road in Saraswatipuram has these documents either.
Government buildings are exempt from property tax of MCC (This exemption is limited to non-residential and non-commercial buildings. The commercial building the Railways are building at the railway station can not get property tax exemption), but they are not exempt from obtaining licence and CR from MCC. Therefore, it is better if MCC takes action against all such buildings.
D.V. Dayanand Sagar, Mysore Grahakara Parishat