A judicial fee investigating allegations of corruption and maladministration within the Mysore City Improvement Authority (MUDA) has discovered no wrongdoing within the allocation of 14 developed housing websites to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s household as compensation for 3.16 acres that have been wrongly acquired. Nonetheless, the panel discovered large-scale irregularities within the authority’s functioning through the 2020-2024 interval.
The fee, headed by retired excessive court docket decide Justice P N Desai, has advisable prison investigations and motion towards MUDA officers, in addition to cancellation of MUDA website allotments below a 50:50 land scheme after March 2023, when the scheme was flagged as violating guidelines.
The Justice Desai fee report findings add to a Lokayukta police probe report and orders of the Karnataka Excessive Courtroom and the Supreme Courtroom of the absence of proof to recommend involvement of corruption or cash laundering within the MUDA allotments to Siddaramaiah’s household.
Final 12 months, Siddaramaiah’s spouse, Parvathi, returned the 14 housing websites allotted to her in 2021 by MUDA below the 50:50 compensation scheme after the controversy was utilized by the Opposition to focus on him and the Congress authorities in Karnataka.
The Justice Desai fee report, which has flagged problems with blatant profiteering in MUDA website allotments by authorities within the 2020-24 interval (BJP tenure 2020-23; Congress 2023-24), was tabled and mentioned in a state cupboard assembly headed by Siddaramaiah on Thursday.
“In respect of utilisation of denotified land in Sy.No.464 of Kesare Village additionally, although the land proprietor insisted for various undeveloped land as compensation and though the decision was additionally handed within the 12 months 2017, the identical was not applied, however subsequently within the 12 months 2022, websites have been allotted on the ratio of fifty:50 as per one of many mode of cost of compensation adopted in the identical method as allotted to others,” the Justice Desai fee famous in its findings in regards to the land allotment to Siddaramaiah’s household.
The fee has opined that “the allotment of websites as compensation to the land homeowners whose lands have been de-notified, however utilised by MUDA as narrated supra pertaining to lands in Sy.No.115/22 and 115/42 of Kergalli Village and the land in Sy.No.464 of Kesare Village can’t be stated to be unlawful” since compensation by means of allocation of websites was achieved by MUDA.
Story continues beneath this advert
“Subsequently, the strategies adopted by the Authority for cost of compensation within the type of websites in case of utilisation of denotified lands can’t be stated illegal, since MUDA doesn’t have any title and authorized possession over the denotified lands,” the fee said.
The three.16 acres of land at survey quantity 464 of Kesare village was purchased by Siddaramaiah’s brother-in-law, Mallikarjun Swamy, in 2004 after it was dropped from a 1996 MUDA acquisition course of. Swamy gifted the land to Siddaramaiah’s spouse in 2010.
The land was discovered to have been wrongly acquired by MUDA in 2014. The civic company agreed in 2021 to compensate for the acquisition with the allotment of 14 developed MUDA housing websites at a primary location.
Siddaramaiah’s household was accused by RTI activist Snehamayi Krishna and the Opposition BJP and JD(S) of profiting to the tune of ₹ 56 crore by the MUDA award of the 14 alternate websites.
Story continues beneath this advert
The Lokayukta police registered a police case after Karnataka Governor Thawarchand Gehlot granted sanction to analyze Siddaramaiah below the Prevention of Corruption Act. The Karnataka Excessive Courtroom upheld the sanction in September 2024. The Lokayukta police probe resulted in a closure report, citing “lack of proof”, in February 2025.
On March 7 this 12 months, the Karnataka Excessive Courtroom halted the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED’s) money-laundering probe towards Parvathi within the MUDA land allotments case after the summons issued by the central company was challenged. The excessive court docket dominated that there was no cash laundering within the land compensation award by MUDA, and this was upheld by the Supreme Courtroom in July.
‘Seems to be a rip-off’: Justice Desai fee findings
One of many key findings of the Justice Desai fee is that the scheme for allotment of alternate websites as compensation for land wrongly acquired by MUDA was crammed with loopholes, appeared devised to learn unlawful claimants, and reeked of a rip-off.
The sudden emergence of calls for for alternate websites within the 2020-24 interval as compensation for MUDA acquired land “could also be with intention to get some higher websites of their selection with the assistance and connivance of MUDA Officers and officers or it seems to be a rip-off in allotting alternate websites giving untenable causes”, the fee said.
Story continues beneath this advert
“The alternate websites allotted are opposite to the provisions of allotment of alternate websites as per Rule 16 of 1991 Guidelines,” the fee added.
Stating that its findings are simply the tip of the iceberg on account of delays in file submissions by MUDA and the paucity of time for the fee to analyze all alternate website allotments, the Justice Desai fee has referred to as for an intensive probe into all allotments.
“Subsequently, an intensive investigation must be made by the Authorities of Karnataka by constituting a technical crew consisting of the excessive rating officers from the City Improvement Division, City Planning Division, Chief Engineer, the Director of Land Information and different officers with technical know confirm all such unlawful allotment in violation of Rule 16 of KUDA Guidelines and the individuals who’re chargeable for such allotments shall be dealt sternly by initiating each civil and prison proceedings and in addition the motion below Service Guidelines, in order that the message ought to go to the society and different authorities to not make allotment in violation of Guidelines,” the fee has said.
“The Fee, after analyzing the recordsdata, has advised to cancel allotment of such unlawful websites and in addition cancel the websites that are allotted after the Authorities Order dated 14.3.2023, directing the Commissioner, MUDA, to not make any such allotments primarily based on such resolutions until the rules are framed by the Authorities,” it added.
Story continues beneath this advert
“The then Commissioner, defying the instructions of the Authorities, went on allotting the websites. Subsequently, such allotments are in violation of Authorities Order, which additionally must be cancelled,” it has said.
“The federal government shall additionally take applicable steps to revive such websites to MUDA by initiating mandatory judicial proceedings and advised to take motion towards the erring officers and officers of MUDA and different individuals who’ve colluded with them in getting the websites illegally allotted by submitting applicable civil and prison proceedings towards them along with taking departmental motion towards the involved officers and officers, in order that the message ought to go to the society in addition to individuals indulging in such actions,” it stated.
The fee has stated in its findings that “corruption in public life can’t be tolerated at any value and the corrupt individuals shall be handled iron hand”.
“It is not uncommon expertise that it will likely be very troublesome for a standard man to get even a single website allotted by such public authorities. However there are circumstances whereby websites numbering 30 to 40 have been allotted illegally to a single one that has no proper for compensation,” Justice Desai has said.
Story continues beneath this advert
The fee has referred to as for drawing up of clear tips for land allotments if a scheme of alternate website allotments are to be adopted by civic companies for land acquisition, creation of excessive degree committee to supervise the actions of companies like MUDA which has now turn into the Mysore Improvement Company (MDA), and using trendy expertise like digital and computer systems programs for transparency and to stop blatant rigging of housing sector programs.
“The Fee has noticed that the websites allotted by MUDA in lieu of compensation for the lands utilised with out acquisition are offered by the stated allottees on the identical day or inside every week of registration of the sale deed of their favour. It is usually seen from the data that such subsequent purchaser has once more offered the stated property for larger consideration,” the fee has famous in a reference to profiteering by actual property operators by MUDA.
The Fee has come throughout cases the place, inside a brief interval of three months of allotment of alternate websites by the MUDA Commissioner, “there are three sale deeds every time displaying larger consideration with a distinction of greater than 10-15 lakhs”.
“That is additionally one of many circumstances to point out that the websites are allotted as compensation illegally by the then Commissioners working from Could 2020 to June 2024 and different officers and officers of MUDA in collusion with the land grabbers,” the fee has said.
MUDA’s 50:50 alternate website allotment scheme
Story continues beneath this advert
MUDA is a physique created below the City Improvement Authority Act of 1987. The 50:50 various land allotment scheme was launched in 2020 below the Karnataka City Improvement Authorities (Disposal of Plots in Lieu of Compensation for Land Acquisition) Guidelines, 1991, as a substitute of a beforehand current land for land scheme.
After a decision in October 2020, MUDA members, together with the chairman and commissioner, drafted the alternate website scheme on November 20, 2020, to distribute websites to land losers on a 50:50 ratio foundation—50 per cent of a developed space in change for 50 per cent of the land acquired by MUDA.
The state city growth division warned MUDA towards implementing the scheme on Could 4, 2021, and March 14, 2023.
The decision handed by MUDA on October 13, 2020, is an unlawful decision below Part 67 of the Karnataka City Improvement Authorities Act-1987, city growth officers have said.
Story continues beneath this advert
In keeping with the state city growth division, 1,328 alternate websites got as compensation below the 50:50 scheme since 2020. There are 125 allotments within the 50:50 scheme in the identical Vijayanagar space the place Siddaramaiah’s spouse, Parvathi, obtained an allotment.
There are allegations that individuals who didn’t lose land in Mysuru have been additionally given high-value alternate websites below the scheme after it started being abused by realtors and politicians.
Final 12 months, the ED provisionally hooked up 142 properties price Rs 300 crore in reference to its investigation into alleged large-scale irregularities within the allotment of housing websites by MUDA within the mild of allegations towards the Karnataka chief minister’s household. The properties of Siddaramaiah’s household, nevertheless, weren’t hooked up by the ED.