Public protests against renting out MDA-owned building to a private party

Residents of Ittigegud held a demonstration outside a building owned by Mysuru Development Authority (MDA) to voice their opposition to handing over the premises to private parties on rent.

The demonstration, held on January 2, comes close on the heels of Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, Mysuru MP, flagging the MDA’s decision to renting out the building, which had been reportedly constructed to house the Passport Office.

The protestors, also comprising residents of surrounding areas like Nazarabad, urged the MDA Commissioner to immediately cancel the decision to hand over the building to private parties and instead utilise it for either housing a government office or an educational institution.

The memorandum submitted to the MDA Commissioner pointed out that before the building, situated on Mysuru Zoo Main Road and Lokaranjan Mahal Road in Ittigegud, came up, a government primary school was functioning in an old building at the location. Owing to the decline in student strength, the school was merged with another school and the old dilapidated structure was demolished to construct a new building on the site.

Though the residents of Ittigegud were informed that a Passport Seva Kendra or a government office would be established in the new building, no such office was set up after the construction of the building.

Instead, the residents said they had read in newspapers that the building had been handed over to private parties. “We never imagined that the building will be leased out to private parties for commercial activities,” the memorandum said, adding, “How appropriate is it to construct a building on land where a government school once existed and then hand it over to private parties?”

At a time when many government offices in Mysuru are functioning at privately owned premises by paying rent, why were such offices not shifted to this building instead of handing it over to private parties for business purposes, the memorandum questioned.

The residents also expressed concern over the government reclaiming such properties once they are handed it over to private parties. “Protecting and reclaiming such public assets becomes extremely difficult in many instances,” it said.

Hence, the residents urged MDA to immediately cancel the decision to hand over the building to private parties and utilise the same to house either a government office or an educational institution.