Karnataka State Cricket Association Hon. President Roger Binny to meet MUDA authorities today 

Mysore/Mysuru: The Karnataka State Cricket Association’s (KSCA) plan to construct a state-of-the-art international Cricket Stadium in Mysuru has got traction with the scheduled visit of KSCA Hon. President Roger Binny to Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) at 3 pm today. 

Binny will meet Commissioner Dr. D.B. Natesh to discuss the handing over of the land for the Stadium. 

MUDA has already earmarked 19.30 acres of land for the Stadium at Hanchya Sathagalli Layout B Zone to the south of Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) on the Ring Road. The KSCA Mysuru Zone had sent a proposal to the MUDA seven years back for the land allotment to construct the international stadium. 

The proposal was approved in the MUDA meeting later and was agreed upon as the Stadium will boost cricket talent in the region (Mysuru, Mandya, Kodagu, Hassan and Chamarajanagar) and at the same time will contribute to the development of allied infrastructure, tourism and connectivity projects. 

After the MUDA decided to allot 19.30-acre land on a 30-year extendable lease to KSCA, the proposal was sent to the Urban Development Department for approval. This is a suitable land as it is located at a prime locality on the Ring Road where four roads meet and there is good connectivity to Bengaluru. 

The proposal to the Government was prepared by the MUDA’s town planning section and has been sent to the Urban Development Department and so far there is no word of approval. Meanwhile, the KSCA wrote to MUDA on the land allotment later and sought permanent hand over instead of an extendable lease. 

The KSCA feels that a lease agreement is not workable as crores of rupees will be invested on the Stadium and a permanent land transfer would help boost cricketing activity in this region. The KSCA has also sought concessional rates when the MUDA hands over the land.

Awaiting Government nod

MUDA officers told Star of Mysore that the ball is in the Government Court. “We have no powers to permanently hand over the land to anyone and the Government has to approve the same. Also, we have apprised the Government on the demand for concessional land rates. It is up to the Government to decide,” officers said. 

The approval issue by the Government, concession rates and also the permanent handing over of land for the Stadium are expected to figure during Roger Binny’s meeting with Dr. Natesh. 

Meanwhile, in another development, based on the directives issued by the District Minister and Mysuru MP, the MUDA has permitted the Mysuru City Corporation to dump construction debris in the land that has been earmarked for the stadium. 

“The land is not level and has many ups and downs. Dumping of construction debris will help level the land and as such, the MCC has been allowed to dump brick and mortar,” MUDA officers reasoned.  

MLA Tanveer Sait had raised the issue in Assembly

In March this year, Minister for Youth Empowerment and Sports K.C. Narayanagowda cold-shouldered the KSCA Stadium proposal to Mysuru. Replying to a question raised by Narasimharaja MLA and former Minister Tanveer Sait, the Minister had said that so far the Department has not made any plans for the construction of a cricket stadium in Mysuru.

However, when Sait insisted that the Stadium is much needed in Mysuru which is Karnataka’s second-biggest city and already land is available, the Minister had replied that he would facilitate talks and explore the option of building an international -level cricket stadium in Mysuru on a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model.

Narayanagowda further assured that he would call for a meeting with officers and elected representatives from Mysuru to discuss the issue. While the State Government would pool in Rs. 25 crore for the stadium, the Centre will grant Rs. 25 crore, the Minister had said.