The MUDA Governing Council recently approved a Rs. 437 Crore action plan. Part of the plan is installing statues in various circles of Mysore. Also included are developing various circles, cycle paths, bus bays, parks, etc. This raises some important questions:
2. Much of this work is being done in areas which have been already handed over to Mysore City Corporation.Why is MUDA doing work in areas handed over to MCC? Does it not lead to jurisdictional disputes?
3. Why are civic bodies not sticking to their statutory duties (and hence their areas of competence) and straying into other areas? MUDA's statutory duty is to acquire land, develop it, distribute the sites and hand over the area to MCC. Instead of developing circles, cycle paths, bus bays and parks in its area of jurisdiction, it is trying to do these things in areas under MCC. Instead of doing its statutory duty, MUDA is trying to become a jack of all trades. As a result, it is not doing its statutory duty (and the very reason for its existence) well. Does it think that installing statues is a "statutory" duty?!
R Chandra Prakash, MGP
1. Should we install statues in the city? There are several problems associated with installing statues. Vandals and drunks often desecrate statues and this can lead to serious law and order problems. Secondly, if the traffic becomes unmanageable and there is a need to remove circles (and the statues) and replace them with traffic lights, there might again be a law and order problem. Thirdly, whenever there is a birth or death anniversary of the VIP whose statue has been installed, various dignitaries want to hold a ceremony near the statue which would block the traffic and pose a hazard. For all these reasons, it is advisable to discourage the statue culture and if at all statues are unavoidable, they should be installed only in a statue park (like Marina Beach in Chennai).
2. Much of this work is being done in areas which have been already handed over to Mysore City Corporation.Why is MUDA doing work in areas handed over to MCC? Does it not lead to jurisdictional disputes?
3. Why are civic bodies not sticking to their statutory duties (and hence their areas of competence) and straying into other areas? MUDA's statutory duty is to acquire land, develop it, distribute the sites and hand over the area to MCC. Instead of developing circles, cycle paths, bus bays and parks in its area of jurisdiction, it is trying to do these things in areas under MCC. Instead of doing its statutory duty, MUDA is trying to become a jack of all trades. As a result, it is not doing its statutory duty (and the very reason for its existence) well. Does it think that installing statues is a "statutory" duty?!
R Chandra Prakash, MGP