Big plans, big test for MCC as budget unveils infra push

Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) has announced a number of development and infrastructure projects in its 2026-27 budget, but questions remain over its ability to execute them, given its past difficulties in implementing the proposals.

Presenting the budget on Wednesday, District Commissioner and MCC supremo Nitesh Patil announced ₹ 50 crore for a new stadium at Kumbarkoppal in Chamaraja constituency and ₹ 30 crore for the restoration of the century-old Town Hall. The civic body has also proposed swimming pools under public-private partnership (PPP) or hybrid models in Krishnaraja, Chamaraja and Narasimharaja constituencies.

MCC has allocated ₹10 crore to set up a special quality control sub-division and laboratory to monitor roads, buildings and other construction works to improve construction standards. Despite ongoing encroachment issues across the city, another ₹10 crore has been allocated to develop pedestrian-friendly footpaths.

The budget emphasizes strengthening of civic infrastructure with ₹11 crore earmarked for indoor stadium works at Kannada Bhavan and Puttaraja Gawai Stadium and ₹50 crore earmarked for development works in three Assembly segments.

The bulk of the expenditure is channeled towards basic infrastructure, with ₹300 crore earmarked each for road and drainage works and water distribution and underground drainage (UGD) systems. However, MCC has not detailed specific projects under these allocations.

In line with digital transformation targets, ₹ 50 crore has been proposed for digitizing over 12.87 lakh pages of records and implementing systematic indexing to improve management.

On the environment front, MCC plans to develop three Miyawaki forests within existing parks under CSR support and introduce a ‘Green Property’ tag to promote eco-friendly practices such as rainwater harvesting and solar energy use among residents. In addition to serving as an awareness centre, a ‘Wonderful Waste Park’ is also proposed to transform scrap into art and functional installations.

As part of its clean city initiatives, MCC has proposed to launch a ‘Clean City App’, a 24-hour grievance redressal system and a dedicated mechanism to keep the Central Business District (CBD) clean, similar to Bengaluru and other city corporations in the state. In addition, GPS tracking systems will be installed on 579 vehicles involved in solid waste transportation.

In a major green initiative, MCC will partner with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) to set up a 150 tonnes per day compressed biogas (CBG) unit under PPP model, converting wet waste into fuel. The company has proposed ‘LIDAR’ and drone-based 3D mapping surveys of buildings, roads and other properties aimed at property mapping, traffic management and identifying flood-prone areas as part of efforts to improve urban planning.