Property Buyers In Mysore Should Know Muda

MUDA History

In 1904, the Mysore government established the City Improvement Trust Board (CITB), one of the earliest town planning bodies in India. The first such urban planning institution, the Bombay City Improvement Trust, had been established only six years earlier in 1898. The CITB planned new extensions and created modern civic amenities such as new drainage and sewage systems; moreover, it also augmented the beauty of the city by planning wide boulevards, circles and parks. Mysore administrators also built several monumental public buildings in Indo-Saracenic style, which served as administrative buildings, schools and colleges, hospitals and libraries. All this contributed to the rapid urbanization of Mysore in the first three decades of the 20th century and the making of a handsome, modern city.

Mysore's population grew rapidly between 1900 and 1930, exceeding 100,000 by 1931. While Mysore's urban form was planned by the CITB, the specific nature of its urbanism drew more from its status as a royal centre. While Mysore has often claimed a glorious pre-modern past, until the beginning of the 20th century it had always simply been the place where the kings lived, and was just a small town around the palace. It had never been a centre of manufacturing and trade, or of cultural, intellectual or military activities.

Its history is linked inexorably to two other cities which performed those functions: until 1799, when the British conquered Mysore it was the neighbouring town of Srirangapattana, and subsequently, Bangalore, which was developed by the colonial administrators, both as the administrative capital of Mysore princely state and a cantonment city.

The early British reports of Mysore too describe it as a rather modest town. Col. Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington and the brother of the then Viceroy, Richard Wellesley, couldn't find a suitable hall for the coronation of the new Wodeyarking of Mysore, after the 4th Anglo-Mysore war in 1799-1800. In fact, Lord Valentia reports that the city consisted of one street, which was a mile long.

The CITB continued with its role as the planner of the city and developer of residential neighbourhoods. There were hardly any private initiatives since even the CITB developed neighbourhoods had remained under-utilized. In 1988, the CITB was renamed as the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) but its responsibilities continued to be the same.

In the past decade, however, the old model of city planning has been abandoned as the new expansion of the city is managed by private developers and not by MUDA, which has mostly become an approver of private initiatives.

MUDA Authority

The Government of Karnataka established the Urban Development Authorities for the planned development of major and important urban areas in the State and the area adjacent thereto and to matters connected therewith under the Karnataka Urban Development Authorities Act 1987. As per the said Act, the City Improvement Trust Board (C. I. T. B), Mysore and Local Planning Authority of Mysore was amalgamated and the present Mysore Urban Development Authority came into existence. The Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) was constituted on 16th May 1988. As per the KUDA Act 1987, the Commissioner of the Authority is the Chief Administrator and Chief Executive of the authority. The Chairman heads the authority. He can call the meeting of the authority and put policy issues before the authority for decision. As per the KUDA Act 1987 the Chairman, The Engineer and the Town Planner shall be the whole time members and other members shall be part time members.