Mysuru's name to be recommended for Smart City scheme

Mysuru: The government has decided to recommend to the Centre to include Mysuru under the Smart City project. “The urban development department is preparing a proposal in this regard,” said Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) commissioner Gurudutt Hegde.

According to sources, the state government is sending a proposal seeking inclusion of three cities of the state under the Smart City scheme.

Kalaburugi and Ballari are the two other cities. It can be recalled that till now Smart City projects are being implemented in six cities of the state, including Shivamogga, the home district of chief minister B S Yediyurappa.

“If Mysuru is included under the Smart City project, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be formed to implement the development schemes,” said sources in the state urban development department.

“Mysuru was in the race for the Smart City scheme earlier as well, however, it missed out as it received central funding in other projects, including the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), and AMRUT,” said sources.

K S Shivashankar, secretary, Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP), a civic group, said that the need of the hour is smart planning and execution of works instead of any such scheme. “If the quality of works and innovation are not maintained, no scheme will bring any changes on the ground. Funding can be done in any name. The need of the hour is how well we execute the scheme and how innovative we are in spending,” he said.

However, Mysuru MP Pratap Simha expressed scepticism about the state government’s proposal to the Centre. “The central government did not invite any applications. There is no proposal to increase the number of Smart Cities in the country beyond 100 cities. So, I am not sure that Mysuru will get selected for this scheme,” he said.