The State Budget for 2023-24 proposes to establish Sri Chamundeshwari Temple Development Authority to undertake integrated development of Chamundi Hills.
The budget tabled by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah mentions that the authority will also seek to provide necessary infrastructure to lakhs of devotees who visit the temple in Mysuru.
Though stakeholders in Mysuru, including the environmentalists, wanted a separate authority for the conservation of Chamundi Hills, the proposed authority will come under the Muzrai Department which oversees the functioning of temples.
Hence, there are concerns that it would focus on temple-specific development and the environmental imperatives will get sidelined.
Prof. N.S. Rangaraju of INTACH Mysuru said that it may be premature to comment on the subject until the composition of the temple authority was known. But the focus and objectives of the authority have to be in sync with the guidelines to conserve heritage, environment, etc., and Chamundi Hills cannot be allowed to turn into a concrete jungle.
He said the authority has to focus on ensuring that Chamundi Hills remains a place of pilgrimage and not a tourist centre and facilities cannot be developed or expanded infinitely without compromising on the environment. Besides, the hills is also historically important as the 10th century Ganga inscriptions refer to it and the Mahabaleshwara temple was the oldest in the region belonging to the 10th century CE.
