Curation Team
MYSURU: Mysuru DC KV Rajendra who is also chairman of Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) has directed Muda to stop issuing khatas.
Going forward, only local bodies will have the authority to issue land titles. The move is anticipated to benefit site owners and potential buyers in Mysuru and surrounding areas, garnering support from activists, as well as the public.
According to a decision taken in the Muda meeting held on November 22, the first khata of a new layout will be registered with local bodies concerned instead of the earlier practice of registering with Muda, and issuing Muda khata and collecting fees. The Muda officials were directed to release all the new layouts to the concerned local bodies.
“Across the state, only local bodies are registering khatas. Now, the same has been implemented in Mysuru. The process of handing over the layouts to the local bodies will be taken in a phased manner,” said DC KV Rajendra to TOI.
According to the sources, all these years Muda was issuing the khata after collecting the fee for the private layouts approved by it which was helping the developers to fix exorbitant rates for the sites. Adding to this, most of the time, developers were not providing these layouts good roads, drainage systems, or street lights.
When the residents demanded transferring the layout to the local bodies, officials were declining, fearing huge sums required to develop these layouts. All these will stop once the new layouts come under the local bodies from the beginning, explained sources in the urban development department.
‘Strong stance’
Bhamy V Shenoy, a civic activist, lauded the decision of the district administration. Hailing the DC for taking such a strong stance in this matter, he stated that all these years the Muda failed to protect the interest of the citizens in terms of planned growth, layouts with all the basic facilities, etc. This decision should have been made a long time ago, he said.
“Scores of private developers were causing problems to the residents by not adhering to the rules, and Muda was silent. Now, the local bodies will get the power, and the required resources to protect the interest of the residents of private layouts,” he said.
