By Gouri Satya, Senior Journalist

The Greater Mysuru proposal has returned with a bang — Chief Minister Siddaramaiah taking the lead to announce it. But the crucial question looms before Mysureans: Do we need a Greater Mysuru to burden us with tax hikes and flyovers that hide our heritage roads and buildings? The answer would be a resounding ‘NO.’

The Greater Mysuru proposal, mooted seven years ago, had been shelved due to ‘financial constraints.’ The State Finance Department had advised deferring the Greater Mysuru City Corporation proposal to the next fiscal year  for want of funds.

Acting on its recommendation, the Director of the Directorate of Municipal Administration had issued an order on Sept. 16 last formally withdrawing the proposal and postponing it to the next financial year, according to a report.

Besides huge investments being a deterring factor, opposition to the proposal was another stumbling block. Several Congress leaders and sitting MCC members had opposed the merger for political and administrative reasons.

Their objections, coupled with the Finance Department’s caution, had ultimately led to the proposal being shelved, added the report.

Deferred only last month, the proposal is back again within a month!

2008 proposal

The proposal was brought up in 2008 and the District Administration followed it up with a report recommending the merger of adjoining areas. Thereafter, the MCC formally submitted a proposal to the State Government in 2012-13.

It mooted the formation of ‘Greater Mysuru’ by bringing 110 villages into the City Corporation limits. On Feb. 28, 2020, then District Minister V. Somanna had assured that the Greater Mysuru plan would be announced in Mar. 5 Budget by Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa.

However, there was no announcement thereafter. Besides opposition to the plan from certain quarters, financial issues might have been a major obstacle to making a decision.

Huge sums of money

The Greater Mysuru plan requires huge sums of money as it involves expanding MCC’s jurisdiction from 86.31 sq. kms to 333.46 sq. kms by including surrounding civic bodies, enhancing basic amenities like roads, water supply and drainage in the outskirts and large infrastructure projects such as the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) and Metro network, expecting financial support from the Centre.

The proposed PRR alone is estimated to cost Rs. 2,000 crore and is to be built under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.

Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh has announced that Rs. 500 crore available with the Mysuru Development Authority (MDA) would be availed for the execution of the project. But Rs. 500 crore is far from the required funding. Hence, funding will remain a potential challenge.

While finding funds amidst the present financial pressure the State Government is facing will remain a challenge for the full implementation of the Greater Mysuru plan, senior Congress leaders, it is said, have brought to the notice of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah the city’s existing civic challenges and the heavy financial burden the Greater Mysuru City Corporation plan would impose on the MCC, besides the State Government.

In spite of a considerable increase in tax mobilisation, the MCC continues to face a severe cash crunch and is struggling to clear the pending bills for ongoing development works.

Heritage character needs protection

If funding the project will be a major issue, there are certain issues exclusive

to Mysuru City that need consideration. Its unique cultural character and heritage status demand special attention before initiating such major  infrastructure projects.

That character needs to be protected, if not promoted further. Once this uniqueness is lost, it is lost forever. The city’s aesthetic appeal must not be diminished in the pursuit of new projects. The construction of flyovers and the Metro in city could cause irreparable damage.

Therefore, a major concern would be how to balance modernisation with the preservation of Mysuru’s unique heritage and cultural charm. As it is, the city is witnessing an erosion in its distinctive features — heritage structures are neglected and crumbling, unauthorised and poorly thought out structures are coming up in heritage places, city parks and civic amenity places are witnessing constructions of one sort or the other, the transport management is failing to keep pace with the commuting public requirements, high-rise structures are mushrooming in the heritage hot-spots throwing up additional pressure on existing infrastructure, etc.

One can imagine what would be the plight of Mysuru and its citizens if the city is expanded by four times from the present from 86.31 sq. kms.

Town Planners of India 2011 study

A study by the Institute of Town Planners of India in 2011 has observed that some places, closer to heritage areas, have already seen the largest concentrations of apartment buildings.

These high-rise apartments are causing visual diminution to the heritage buildings. The trend of high-rise apartments in Mysuru has set in and it will continue to increase. Though it will sustain a good supply of dwelling units, it will increase the vulnerability to the heritage of the city over a long period, the study cautioned. This scenario was almost four years ago.

Another major issue the Greater Mysuru plan could bring in is the environmental impact. There is a risk that real estate and industrial growth could outpace the development of essential infrastructure, leading to traffic gridlocks, water crises and environmental degradation.

The real estate business is already setting high hopes of a significant rise in property values in the new and yet-to-be-developed layouts — a development that will benefit only real estate investors and distance the poor and the middle class from owning a house.

Impact on tax-payers

Amidst all these issues, the tax-paying citizen, who will have to face the impact, has been sidelined. He has not been taken into confidence. Since November 2023, the MCC has remained without an elected body. Elections are being postponed and it may see further postponement pending the constitution of a ‘Bruhat Mysuru Mahanagara Palike.’ 

Soon after Siddaramaiah’s announcement in Mysuru on Nov. 4, 2025 on the Greater Mysuru plan, Mysuru-Kodagu MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar came out with a statement voicing concern.

“Preserving Mysuru’s heritage through responsible development is important. Development must be transparent and data-driven. I have written to the Chief Minister expressing concern over the flyovers. There is no traffic study available in the open forum and there is no citizen consultation. Such large-scale construction may permanently damage the city’s aesthetics. Hundreds of trees may be felled,” he said, underlining that Mysuru’s visual and cultural harmony must be preserved.

He warned, “If the flyover projects are taken up despite people’s opposition, we will fight legally and organise a movement with citizens’ co-operation.”

A senior engineer talking to this writer remarked, “Mysuru is not another city. It has a unique charm. This should be preserved. We don’t want a Greater Mysuru.”