Will not provide Khata, Registration services: MUDA Commissioner A.N. Raghunandan

Mysuru: With the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) handing over  residential Layouts developed by it and private developers to the respective Urban Local Bodies — Mysuru City Corporation (MCC), Hootagalli City Municipal Council (CMC) and Bogadi, Srirampura, Rammanahalli and Kadakola Town Panchayats (TPs) —  it will only be a planning body from now on, with its powers limited to just approval of new Layout plans. 

Speaking to Star of Mysore, MUDA Commissioner A.N. Raghunandan said that issuance of site records will be done only until the residential layouts are handed over to the respective Urban Local Bodies in full, after which the issuance will be stopped completely. After the handing over, the Urban Local Bodies will get the power for issuance of Khata, Khata transfer, Tax determination etc.

Raghunandan further said that the process of handing over of 17 residential layouts developed by MUDA years ago too has begun. The Government has been written a letter in this regard, he said adding that issuance of site records such as Khata, Kandaya etc., will be done by MUDA until then.

As per the Karnataka Urban Development Authorities Act and Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, all Urban Development Authorities are authorised to issue only Plan Approvals  and accordingly, no Khata and Kandaya registration is being done in any of the 32 Urban Development Authorities in the State.

These Urban Development Authorities have restricted themselves to Plan Approvals  and all other services like issuance of site records (Khata registration etc.) are provided by the respective City Corporations and other Local Bodies, which are entrusted with  the  maintenance of layouts.

But as an exemption, the MUDA, apart from granting Plan Approvals, had indulged in issuing Khata, registration of sites, Khata transfer, Pouthi Khate, Revenue collection, CRs (Completion Report) and other records in respect of sites, since 1980.

Erstwhile Mysore ruler Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, in order to ensure planned development of Mysuru city, had established City Improvement Trust Board (CITB) decades ago for distribution of sites and houses for the shelterless.

The CITB, which used to form Layouts in keeping with the aspirations of the Maharajas, later was converted as Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) in the late 1980s. Though    MUDA has been doing the job of Urban Local Bodies as per the Urban Development Authorities Act, at the same time,  it also engaged in collection of Revenue, Property Tax etc.

 Despite this, the MUDA had no infrastructure for providing  basic amenities  such as drinking water, power  and also for maintenance of parks etc. As such, it became inevitable for the MCC to maintain the layouts.

But, as both the MUDA and the MCC failed in providing basic amenities in some of the recently formed Layouts, the residents of these layouts were left a severely inconvenienced lot.

Now with MUDA handing over these localities to the respective Urban Local Bodies of the city, the residents can expect their local bodies to properly maintain the localities with funds generated from revenue collection.