Former Muda chief questioned by Lokayukta

NT Correspondent

Mysuru

Former Commissioner of Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) D B Natesh was questioned by Lokayukta police here on Tuesday, in connection with the alleged irregularities in allotment of sites to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi, officials said. He appeared before the Lokayukta police in response to a notice served on him, they said. "...investigation is underway. We have to provide necessary documents and information to the investigating agency which will find the truth," Natesh told reporters.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is facing allegations of illegalities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife Parvathi B M by the MUDA. Siddaramaiah, his wife Parvathi, brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy and Devaraju -- from whom Swamy had purchased a land and gifted it to Parvathi -- and others have been named in the FIR registered by the Mysuru Lokayukta police on September 27, following the directions of a special court. On September 30, the ED has filed an enforcement case information report (ECIR) to book the CM and others based on Lokayukta FIR. Siddaramaiah was served a summon for questioning, and he appeared before the Lokayukta police in Mysuru on November 6 Parvathi, Swamy and Devaraju have also already deposed before the Lokayukta police.

In the MUDA site allotment case, it is alleged that 14 compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife in an upmarket area in Mysuru (Vijayanagar Layout 3rd and 4th stages), which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land acquired by MUDA. The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where it developed a residential layout. Under the controversial scheme, MUDA allotted 50 per cent of developed land to the land losers in lieu of undeveloped land acquired from them for developing residential layouts. However, as the site allocation triggered a controversy, Parvathi wrote to MUDA asking it to cancel 14 sites allotted to her and the MUDA had accepted it.