13 days on, MUDA Office still idle; salaries continue

Mysore/Mysuru: Despite the State Government authorising the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) office to resume operations after a suspension due to an investigation into illegal site allocations, the office has remained inactive for over 13 days.

On Aug. 3, K. Latha, Under Secretary of the Urban Development Department, issued a directive allowing the MUDA office to restart its daily functions, including revenue collection, building design approvals, map approvals and handling court-related documents.

Previously, on July 1, the Government had ordered a suspension of all meetings, document signings, decisions and site allocations until the completion of investigation into MUDA’s site allocation irregularities and a was report submitted. Despite the recent authorisation, MUDA officials have not resumed operations, leaving the public frustrated and stranded.

The  (MUDA) office employs around 200 staff members, including key roles such as the Chairman, a Personal Assistant, the Commissioner, two Personal Assistants, a Legal Officer and various supplementary staff.

The team also includes a Superintending Engineer, a Secretary, the Chief Accountant, two Executive Engineers, a City Planner, a Special Land Acquisition Officer and their respective Personal Assistants.

Additionally, the office has 13 Assistant Executive Engineers, 20 Assistant Engineers (AEs) and Junior Engineers (JEs), three City Planning Assistant Directors, three Special Tahsildars, five Office Inspectors, 11 Office Managers, 10 First Division Assistants, 20 Second Division Assistants, 40 Class-IV employees and Group ‘D’ staff, 45 outsourced workers and 30 drivers.

The office operates a fleet of 30 vehicles. Monthly expenses, including salaries, fuel, office maintenance, stationery, electricity, internet, telephone bills, and pensions are estimated to be between Rs. 5 crore to Rs. 6 crore.

However, for the past one-and- a-half months, officials and staff have only been marking their attendance and then remaining idle. Taxpayers are growing increasingly concerned as the office remains inactive despite consuming substantial resources and continuing to draw significant salaries.