Opposition party leader R. Ashok has levelled serious allegations against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, accusing him of being involved in the controversial land allotment scandal related to the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA). Ashok claims that Siddaramaiah’s kin acquired 14 plots of land, totaling 3.16 acres, in a highly questionable manner, which he says violates legal and ethical standards.
Ashok alleged the controversy centres on a parcel of land originally purchased by Ninga in 1935 for just one rupee. Ninga and his wife, Ningamma, have since passed away, with Ningamma dying in 1990. According to Ashok, there are now 27 descendants of the Ninga family, and the land in question, located under survey number 464, was transferred to one of Ninga’s sons, Mallaiah, in 1968.
He said that in 1990, MUDA issued a preliminary notification to acquire 462 acres of land, including the land under survey number 464, for the construction of the Devanur layout housing project. Mallaiah’s descendant, Devaraju, was reportedly paid Rs 3 lakh as compensation for the land, and he signed the award notice. However, despite this, MUDA abandoned the land in 1998.
Ashok points out that the land was eventually denotified—a process typically not allowed after an award has been given. He alleges this denotification occurred under dubious circumstances while Siddaramaiah served as Deputy Chief Minister. According to Ashok, one of Ninga’s sons, Devaraju, signed off on the denotification. Still, the process was carried out in violation of a Supreme Court order, which Ashok claims makes the denotification illegal.
In 2001, Rs 11.68 crore was allocated for the third stage of Devanur layouts development. Despite this, the land was denotified in Devaraju’s name. Then, in 2004, Siddaramaiah’s brother-in-law allegedly purchased 3.16 acres of this land from Devaraju. Initially classified as agricultural, the land was converted to residential status in 2005 during ongoing development work. Despite inspections by the DC and Tehsildar, no action was taken against this conversion.
In a further twist, Ashok claims that in 2010, Siddaramaiah transferred the 3.16 acres of land to his wife, Parvathi, as part of a traditional “Arishina Kumkum” gift. In 2014, Parvathi wrote a letter to MUDA, claiming that the land she had received had been infringed upon and requested a replacement plot. This request came when Siddaramaiah was the Chief Minister and introduced a controversial 50:50 ratio rule for land allotment. In 2017, MUDA discussed Parvathi’s claim and granted her a replacement plot under the 50:50 rule.
Ashok’s accusations have added fuel to an already heated debate over MUDA’s land allotment practices, with calls for an independent investigation. The controversy is expected to escalate, with the opposition planning further actions to hold the government accountable for what they allege is widespread corruption and misuse of power.
