Siddaramaiah faces heat: All you need to know about MUDA controversy

A year after being ousted from power, the BJP in Karnataka has launched a broadside against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his family, accusing them of corruption and demanding his resignation.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) says the Chief Minister and his family have profited enormously from illegal allotments made by the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA).

Siddaramaiah has denied the charges.

The allegations

The names of Siddaramaiah's wife, son and some close associates have surfaced in the allegations. The main charge is that there has been a huge scam involving around Rs 5,000 crore in the allotment of plots by the MUDA.

During the construction of layouts, the MUDA was to allot 50-50 plots to the landowners instead of the land acquired for the layout. The BJP says that Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi was a beneficiary.

How did scam erupt?

There had been correspondence between the MUDA commissioner and the Mysore district commissioner KV Rajendra regarding this case for the past year.

Sensing large-scale irregularities, Rajendra wrote over 15 letters requesting information about the 50-50 plot allotments. He also suggested an investigation and requested a halt to the allotment of plots until the probe was completed.

However, the MUDA commissioner did not respond to the letters or suggestions.

BJP spills the beans

Consequently, Rajendra wrote to the government urging the formation of a committee to investigate the alleged wrongdoing.

It was after this that BJP leader and former minister H Vishwanath brought the case to public light through a media conference. Urban development authorities usually acquire land from landowners to construct layouts. As compensation, they give the landowners monetary value of the land or allocate 50 per cent of the developed plots in the layout.

The allotment

Alternatively, authorities can provide land elsewhere equivalent to the acquired land. In the case of the MUDA layout, no agreement was made with the landowners, and the land was acquired without following any norms. The landowners were not given just compensation or alternate plots.

Reportedly, plots were allotted to applicants without considering seniority. Serious allegations have emerged the allocations were made to favoured individuals.

CM’s son, wife named

Former Congressman and now BJP MLC H Vishwanath has made serious allegations against the chief minister's son and Legislative Council member Dr. Yathindra Siddaramaiah and wife Parvathi Siddaramaiah.

Former minister Vishwanath claims that Yathindra Siddaramaiah played a major role in the scam and that plots were also allotted in the name of the chief minister’s wife.

Siddaramiah’s defence

Siddaramaiah said that three acres and sixteen ‘guntas’ of land belonging to his wife’s family (wife’s brother) was acquired for the MUDA layout and alternate land was given in return during the previous BJP government’s tenure.

He stated that he did not acquire any land during his tenure. The land, he added, was allotted as per the 50-50 ratio rule by the previous BJP government.

He said a committee was formed to investigate the allegations.

Allotment stopped

The government has annulled the 50-50 plot allotment following the allegations. Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh said this was done because it lacked prior cabinet approval.

A committee has been formed to investigate the case, headed by the Urban Planning Commissioner Venkatachalapathi. Several officials, including the MUDA commissioner, have been transferred to facilitate the investigation.

CM asked to quit

The BJP insists that Siddaramaiah is involved in the case and must resign immediately and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) should take over the probe.

The party claims that the chief minister’s wife, son and close associates were involved in the alternate plot allotment and that high-value plots were allocated in prestigious layouts instead of the same layout.