Mysore/Mysuru: Major General (retd.) S.G. Vombatkere has welcomed the formation of the Statutory Authority for the Hill. “It is a positive development. We had been persistently demanding this, aiming to establish clear guidelines and strict adherence to them. Development plans that prioritise turning the Chamundi Hill into a tourist destination or constructing buildings should not be allowed. Instead, structural activities should focus on preserving the Hill’s natural environment,” he noted.

“In fact, we had made a Draft with the co-operation of Star of Mysore Founder- Editor K.B. Ganapathy and prepared a Draft Bill for Sri Chamundeshwari Kshethra Abhivruddhi Pradhikara (Sri Chamundeshwari Temple Development Authority). That Bill was sent to the Government — Basavaraj Bommai Government — about 10 months ago. The Government did nothing on it and the Bill is sitting on the table of some Officer. We want to move that Bill now so that the Budget allocations may be made use of and also to make sure that the top of the Chamundi Hill and its surroundings will be used only for pilgrimage tourism and not for commercial tourism,” Vombatkere said.

“We had prepared the Draft Bill after detailed deliberations and some of the people who were involved were K.B. Ganapathy, MLA G.T. Devegowda, Parashuram Gowda of Parisara Balaga and Chamundi Betta Ulisi Samithi and water conservationist and wetland specialist U.N. Ravikumar. I had prepared the Draft Bill four years ago and the final shape was given before sending it to the Government, taking into consideration several aspects,” he said.