Fund crunch delays AI-driven system for clean city in Mysuru

The main cause for the delay in implementing the AI project is said to be the absence of an elected council in the Mysuru City Corporation.

Mysuru: The Mysuru City Corporation’s (MCC) much awaited and technology-driven concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI) system to keep the city clean is still on paper.

The project that was scheduled to be implemented by March 2025, remains an idea, even after a year. 

Thus, most of the areas and vantage points across Mysuru city have turned into an eyesore, with garbage heaps, despite the MCC, with its fleet of pourakarmikas, taking up a strict cleanliness drive. 

The main cause for the delay in implementing the AI project is said to be the absence of an elected council in the MCC.

The absence of the council hampers development works significantly, besides lack of funds. Several projects worth crores of rupees have come to a halt, it is alleged.

However, the MCC has continued its efforts for a clean city that attracts lakhs of tourists every year.

Several initiatives taken up

Even though the MCC has been taking up several initiatives to keep the city clean, like holding marathons for the public, drawing and painting contests for schoolchildren under ‘Swachh Survekshan’, garbage strewn roads mirror the apathy of the public, allege activists. 

MCC Environment Engineer Mruthyunjaya said, “Elimination of Garbage Vulnerable Points (GVP)s is a major challenge, as one of the objectives of the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban is to achieve garbage-free cities, including elimination of GVPs.”

The MCC had taken all efforts to use an AI system to prevent littering.

It had plans to introduce AI systems at more than 50 places across the city. They were supposed to be installed at the GVPs, he said.

CSR initiative

“The funds allocated for the MCC for the AI system project was Rs 50 lakh. However, the funds lapsed, as there is no elected body in the MCC. Now, we are trying to take up the initiative under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds. We have already spoken to a few companies. However, it has been delayed due to the financial year-end. We are coordinating with the companies, who have assured to take up the initiative in the current fiscal year 2026-27,” he said.

“The MCC experimented several methods like night patrolling to prevent disposing of garbage at vantage points. However, it led to heated arguments between the public and the supervisor deployed on patrol. Hence, we planned digital interventions like AI for a garbage-free city. Rs 50 lakh was allocated for the project, with each equipment costing around Rs 80,000. The tender process was completed and the works were to begin soon. However, the funds lapsed, as there was no elected body in the MCC,” said another officer.

‘Disappoint over the delay’

Suvarna, a resident of Vijayanagar, said, “We were happy, when we learnt that the MCC will use an AI system to prevent littering. However, the delay has left us disappointed. Even though the civic workers visit the areas regularly to collect garbage, some residents are too lazy to segregate wet and dry waste and dump garbage by the roads. The MCC should install CCTV cameras and impose fines on the violators.”