Getting to the bottom of Muda allegations levelled against CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: The Mysore Urban Development Authority ‘scam’ that is hot in the pan in Karnataka politics is rooted in the 50:50 scheme under which land losers are compensated.

The scheme, which dates back to the reign of the BJP State government, compensates people who have lost land to Muda with either 50 per cent of the developed site or an alternative plot.

The allegation is that several influential people, including political leaders and real estate agents, have received alternative land of much greater worth in areas where land had greater guidance value, resulting in massive losses to the Muda.

It is also claimed that a multitude of land losers received more alternative plots than they were entitled to. Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka alleged that irregularities in the scam amount to Rs 4,000 crore.

The BJP has demanded that the case be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

CM caught in crosshairs

What lends gravity to the matter is that the allegations are also being directed at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The Opposition claims that the CM’s wife received a plot of greater value in Mysuru city’s Vijayanagara locality in lieu of lost land.

Siddaramaiah confirmed that his brotherin-law Mallikarjun had bought three acres and 16 guntas of land in Kesare village near Mysuru city’s Outer Ring Road and gifted it to his sister and the CM’s wife Parvati. He said that in 2021 Muda took over this plot for a layout without compensating Parvati.

The CM added that his wife was allotted alternative sites amounting to 38,284 square feet in the sought-after Vijayanagara locality’s third and fourth stages in the south of Mysuru.

Another point of contention is that Siddaramaiah claims an alternative site had to be provided due to plots still being under development in Kesare. However, Right to Information (RTI) activists insist that there were developed sites in the Devanur III Stage layout in Kesare.

Congress MLA from Virajpet and the CM’s legal advisor AS Ponnanna went a step further and argued that the value of land Parvati received is about Rs 15 crore or so, adding that she is owed Rs 57 crore more by way of compensation.

Siddaramaiah has repeatedly pointed out that the BJP was in power (2021) when the allotment was made, adding that the 50:50 scheme was abolished by his government in November last year. However, the allegation is that the scheme continued long after.

Prima facie suspicions emerge

An inquiry under IAS officer Venkatachalapathy R has brought out that there is evidence to suspect irregularities in the allocation of alternative plots. A four-member committee has been ordered to probe the allegations in-depth. The CM has also put the allotment of plots under the 50:50 scheme on hold until the investigation is complete.

Minister for Urban Development and Town Planning Byrathi Suresh has transferred four officers, including MUDA commissioner Dinesh Kumar over the matter.