MYSORE: After its earlier petition against a shopping complex at Makkaji Chowk was rejected by the court, the Association of Concerned and Informed Citizens of Mysore (ACICM) has filed a fresh public interest litigation against the project on the grounds that it violated the provisions of the Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) for Mysore 2011.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, ACICM convener M. Lakshmana said the CDP, which had been approved by the State Government, had earmarked areas of special control where historical monuments of Mysore were situated. With Mysore Palace and Town Hall figuring among the eleven structures identified for the purpose, Mr. Lakshmana said the construction of a shopping complex seven metres taller and within a radius of 100 metres from the areas of special control violated the CDP.

Though its earlier petition alleging corruption in the award of the contract to private builders by the Mysore City Corporation (MCC) was not entertained by the court, Mr. Lakshmana was hopeful that the proposed PIL on "technical grounds" would make a sound legal case.

"Despite its own CDP prohibiting the construction of buildings taller than seven metres within a radius of 100 metres from the monuments, the Mysore City Corporation has approved the shopping complex at Makkaji Chowk," Mr. Lakshmana alleged.

Deviation

According to the MoU signed between MCC and the private builder, the shopping complex consisted of a cellar, ground floor, first floor and second floor, whose height would be 10.5 metres. "This barely separated by a 1.5 feet wall from the premises of Mysore City Corporation (MCC), which falls under the areas of special control," he said.

Though the building plan said the shopping complex would be 10.5 metres, in reality the building will go up to 15 metres as it was technically not possible to keep the height of the proposed building at 10.5 metres, he added.

"The builder had deviated from the sanctioned plan to a large extent," he added.

Another glaring lapse of the project was that a portion of the land at Makkaji Chowk did not belong to the MCC, he said.

There is a High Court order which states that a portion of land did not belong to MCC. belong to it amounted to a criminal offence.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail