Mysore City Corporation

The Government of India passed an order in 1861 directing all states and provinces to form nagara sabhe. Mysore Town municipality (Nagara sabhe) was formed on July 8, 1862 with a population of the city, that included the palace and its immediate surrounding areas was just 30,000. Till 1892, the district magistrate (now deputy commissioner) was heading the body as commissioner. In 1892, members were elected by public for the first time. Among overall 21 members, nine were government nominees. In 1870, it became an autonomous body with the government delegating several responsibilities including police department. Also the government had entrusted the task of collecting revenue from every house to the civic body. In 1890, the government took over the responsibility of police. Now, the police department come under the home department, Government of Karnataka. The Mysore City Corporation (then nagara sabhe) building was constructed during the reign of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar. The foundation was laid in 1921. The architecture resembles the Palace, especially with its domes on the top. The town municipality became city municipality in the 1930s. The secretary to the Maharaja had the additional charge of administrator. The city municipality became Mysore City Corporation in 1979, after the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act was passed in 1976. The first mayoral polls was held in 1983 and P Vishwanath was elected mayor. There were 57 wards, which were increased to 65 in 1996. It remains unchanged till date. MCC celebrated 150 years of existance in Amba Vilas Palace Mysore Palace and the dignitaries such as Governor and Chief Minister and all the former mayors were felicitated on the occasion.[1]

Mayor will be elected for a term of one year and Corporators will be in office for 5 years[9]

Overseeing engineering works, health, sanitation, water supply, administration and taxation, the corporation is headed by a Mayor, who is assisted by commissioners and council members.[10] The annual budget of the corporation for the year 2011–2012 was ₹4.27 billion (equivalent to ₹7.1 billion or US$99 million in 2019).[11] Among 63 cities covered under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, Mysore City Corporation was adjudged the second best city municipal corporation and was given the "Nagara Ratna" award in 2011.[12]

Mysuru City Corporation to set up plant to recycle construction waste tying up with a NGO and reserved five acres of land near Koppaluru village on H D Kote Road for the same[13]

Urban growth and expansion is managed by the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA), which is headed by a commissioner. Its activities include developing new layouts and roads, town planning and land acquisition. One of the major projects undertaken by MUDA is the creation of an Outer Ring Road to ease traffic congestion.[19] Citizens of Mysuru have criticised MUDA for its inability to prevent land mafias and ensure lawful distribution of housing lands among city residents.[20] The Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation is responsible for electric supply to the city.[21]

A section of MCC owned Heritage Lansdowne Building (Named after second Viceroy who visit Mysore after restoration of administrative powers to Chamaraja Wadiyar) which was constructed on November 19, 1892 fell down due to heavy rains in August 2012 killing four persons. The vendors, who had occupied the building, were accommodated by MCC on the front side of the structure as a temporary arrangement.[22]

A portion of Century old Devaraja market, which is in the Heart of the city collapsed due to lack of maintenance. Soil Bearing Capacity (SBC) test was conducted and the report suggested to strengthen the loose soil spot and construct a drain to drain out the underground water, which required more time because of the varieties of soil and huge volume of water found underneath. A proposal to rebuild the Market at Budget of Rs. 70 crore was sent to the State Government for approval. Upon consent, the Corporation had planned to take up the soil testing in other places too as the type of soil is varying from one place to another. Members of Heritage Committee have given the nod for re-building it. A detailed report including SBC report and revised estimate will be submitted to the State Government.[23] In December 2020, Karnataka High Court stayed the demolition of Heritage buildings[24]

MCC expanded it's jurisdiction to include several villages on the outskirts such as Alanahalli, Srirampura, Chamundi Hill, Hootagalli and Hinkal due to presence of many Industrial and Commercial establishments in the erstwhile villages.[25][26][27] 77 Revenue Layouts are planned to be included to MCC under Akrama Sakrama Scheme, which will also increase the revenue to the Corporation[28][29][30]

Several areas outside the Outer Ring Road in Mysuru have witnessed growth in the last few years. There is a long-pending proposal to expand the jurisdiction of Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) to include eight gram panchayats on the outskirts of Mysuru in the expanded civic body into a ‘Bruhat Mysuru Mahanagara Palike’ or ‘Greater Mysuru’ in line with Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike[31]

The localities of Vijayanagar Third Stage, Fourth Stage (First Phase), Garudachar Layout, Cauvery Layout, Wild Grass, Chennegowda Layout, Subramanyanagar and some of the areas adjoining the Ring Road which was handed over to the MCC maintenance, but Khata was not yet issued. Both localities are now planned to be included to newly formed Hootagalli City Municipal Council (CMC)[32][33][34][35]

As a result of Urbanisation, the water bodies declined from 12.84 sq km (2.53%) to 9.42 sq km (1.86%) from 2000 to 2016. The net decrease was 3.42 sq km, with an annual rate 0.21 sq km (i.e., 210 hectare). The forests declined from 11.25 sq km to 10 sq km and net decrease was 1.25 sq km, with an annual rate 0.08 sq km giving us a signal of Mysore, which was popular as a Pensioners’ Paradise evolving into another metropolitan city[36]

Drinking water for Mysore is sourced from the Kaveri and Kabini rivers.[38] The city got its first piped water supply when the Belagola project was commissioned in 1896.[39] As of 2011, Mysore gets 193,000 cubic metres (42.5 million imperial gallons) of water per day. Mysore sometimes faces water crises, mainly during the summer months (March–June) and in years of low rainfall.[40] The city has had an underground drainage system since 1904. The entire sewage from the city drains into four valleys: Kesare, Malalavadi, Dalavai and Belavatha.[38]^:56 In an exercise carried out by the Urban Development Ministry under the national urban sanitation policy, Mysore was rated the second cleanest city in India in 2010 and the cleanest in Karnataka.[41][42]

Under 14th Finance Scheme, the MCC had installed e-toilets at various locations with a view to help people to answer nature call by using Rs. 5 coin. These were prominently established near places where the footfall was more including Central Business District (CBD). Mysuru, being an important destination, attracts lakhs of tourists every year. With no public toilets for the visiting public, the MCC had decided to set up e-toilets so that they can relieve themselves by inserting Rs. 5 coin. Unfortunately, there are no takers for these e-toilets may be due to cost factor or hygiene. At many places, miscreants have taken away the pipe, taps and other accessories inside these toilets due to absence of watch and ward.[43] To publicise Swach Bharat (A Cleanliness awareness drive) MCC choose Former Cricketer and Match Referee Javagal Srinath[44]

Mysore was judged as cleanest city of India in 2015 and 2016 by Swachh Bharat Mission. It emerged as second cleanest in the year 2010. Mysore declared as cleanest among medium cities in 2018 and 2020 and cam second in the same category in 2019.[45]

The city is divided into 65 wards and the council members (also known as corporators) are elected by the citizens of Mysore every five years.[46] The council members, in turn, elect the mayor. The citizens of Mysore elect five representatives to the Legislative assembly of Karnataka through the constituencies of Chamaraja, Krishnaraja, Narasimharaja, Hunsur and Chamundeshwari.[47] Mysore city, being part of the larger Mysore Lok Sabha constituency, also elects one member to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament. The politics in the city is dominated by three political parties: the Indian National Congress (INC), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Janata Dal (Secular) (JDS).[47]

• Karnataka
• Mysore
• Municipal corporation

• Mysore district portal