The Congress government in Karnataka has been embroiled in a major controversy over the issue of land acquisition cost and alleged irregularities. Incidentally, on Wednesday (10th July), a complaint was filed against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and nine others for allegedly forging documents to claim compensation from the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA). Social activist Snehamayi Krishna has filed the complaint. It has accused Siddaramaiah, his wife Parvathy, his brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy Devaraj, who claimed to be a landowner, and his family of ‘wrongdoings’.
The complaint was lodged at Vijayanagar Police Station in Mysuru. The letter has also been written to the governor, the state chief secretary, and the principal secretary of the revenue department. It alleged that MUDA cheated by creating fake documents and obtaining plots worth crores of rupees.
It is pertinent to note that earlier, CM Siddaramaiah rejected the BJP’s demand for a CBI probe in this matter. In his defence, he demanded Rs 62 from MUDA claiming that it “usurped” his family’s 3.16-acre land for a development project. However, the Chief Minister’s demand soon sparked an outrage among the Bengaluru farmers. They accused the administration of following separate rules for the Chief Minister and state farmers. Additionally, they have also started to demand higher compensation from MUDA for acquiring their land for key development projects.
Major developments in the alleged MUDA scam and the ongoing controversy explained
Evidently, a major controversy over the reported allotment of 14 pricey plots to CM Siddaramaiah’s family in Mysuru has rocked the state politics of Karnataka. The Bharatiya Janata Party has been demanding a CBI probe in this matter. It has alleged irregularities and a scam in the land acquisition and allotment of an alternate site.
According to the allegations, MUDA generally follows a 60:40 ratio in development projects meaning that it gives 40% of land back to the farmers in the same developed project. However, it is alleged that MUDA not only followed a 50:50 ratio in CM Siddaramaiah’s case but also allocated pricy plots at a different location.
BJP has alleged that Siddaramaiah helped himself with the allotment of 14 plots in the upscale Vijayanagar locality in Mysuru in exchange for giving up 3 acres 16 guntas of land on the city outskirts to Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA). It has charged CM’s family with accepting Rs 35 crore worth of plots in place of earlier decided compensation of Rs 3 lakh.
Speaking with the media, the Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, R Ashoka said, “It is like taking compensatory plots on MG road for the land surrendered at Dasarahalli (outskirts) in Bengaluru.”
Earlier this week, Ashoka said, “The CM has resorted to indiscriminate looting to secure his son’s future (Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah) after being convinced that his days as CM were numbered. The Rs 4000 crore scam in the allotments of MUDA plots was the biggest one…He (the CM) seems to have decided to make wealth for the next 10 generations.”
₹4,000 ಕೋಟಿ ಮೌಲ್ಯದ ಮುಡಾ ಭೂಹಗರಣ ಸಿಎಂ @siddaramaiah ಅವರ ಕುತ್ತಿಗೆಗೆ ಬರುತ್ತಿದ್ದಂತೆ ಸಾಕ್ಷಿ ನಾಶ ಮಾಡುವ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನಗಳು ಜೋರಾಗಿಯೇ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿವೆ.
— R. Ashoka (ಮೋದಿ ಅವರ ಕುಟುಂಬ) (@RAshokaBJP) July 9, 2024
✔️ನಗರಾಭಿವೃದ್ದಿ ಸಚಿವರು ಕಡತಗಳನ್ನು ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿಗೆ ತರುತ್ತಾರೆ.
✔️ಹಗರಣದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಪದೇ ಪದೇ ಪತ್ರ ಬರೆದಿದ್ದ ಡಿಸಿ ಎತ್ತಂಗಡಿ ಆಗುತ್ತಾರೆ
✔️ನೂರಕ್ಕೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಕಡತಗಳು… pic.twitter.com/vgfMqzNWVz
ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಇತಿಹಾಸದಲ್ಲೇ ಅತ್ಯಂತ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಹಗರಣವಾದ ₹4,000 ಕೋಟಿ ಮೌಲ್ಯದ ಮುಡಾ ಹಗರಣದಲ್ಲಿ ದಿನಕ್ಕೊಂದು ಕರ್ಮಕಾಂಡ ಬಯಲಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ.
— R. Ashoka (ಮೋದಿ ಅವರ ಕುಟುಂಬ) (@RAshokaBJP) July 5, 2024
ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿ @siddaramaiah ಅವರ ಪತ್ನಿಗೆ ಮಂಜೂರಾಗಿರುವ 35 ಕೋಟಿ ರೂಪಾಯಿ ಮೌಲ್ಯದ 14 ನಿವೇಶನಗಳಿಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಪಟ್ಟ ಕಡತಗಳನ್ನ ತಿರುಚುವ ಉದ್ದೇಶದಿಂದ ನಗರಾಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿ ಸಚಿವ @byrathi_suresh ಅವರು… pic.twitter.com/MQbJQbFCpj
He added that the allotment has caused financial losses to MUDA as its officials allotted the plot on a 50:50 ratio basis soon after CM’s wife made an application. The BJP leader further added that the MUDA had carved plots out of denotified land owned by the CM’s family, but he was not getting access to records. There was a big racket behind these allotments.
Ashoka added, “Though 86,000 people applied for MUDA plots, only Congress leaders have got allotments.”
On Saturday (6th July), Union Minister Pralhad Joshi demanded an impartial investigation into the alleged MUDA scam and appealed to the state government to transfer it to the CBI.
He said, “It is alleged that it is a more than Rs 3,800 crores scam and plots duly authorised by MUDA have been transferred in the name of the wife of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. There was a huge scam and the then DC who has now been transferred to cover up the same, had written more than 15 letters to the state government to look into the matter and show proper directions to MUDA. In spite of that, they did not act and Siddaramaiah got very valuable land.”
Siddaramaiah demands Rs 62 crore compensation for 3.16 acre land
Following mounting pressure from the BJP, CM Siddaramaiah claimed that he got a lesser acre of land as compensation. He rejected BJP’s allegations that the 14 pricey plots allotted to his family were done “illegally”. Regarding the allotment of land in a different location, he claimed that it was MUDA’s mistake. Subsequently, he demanded Rs 62 crore as compensation for the 3.16 acres of his family land which was acquired for a development project.
Siddaramaiah said, “Our land measuring 3.16 acres was encroached, made into sites, and sold. So, let them compensate us with Rs 62 crore, which is the market price of the land.”
He argued, “Our land was taken away. Should I let go of 3.16 acres just because I’m the chief minister? Actually, we should have got another 3.16 acres in a land-to-land deal.”
According to reports, in lieu of the 3.16 acres of land that MUDA used to form a layout, Siddaramaiah’s wife was compensated in a 50:50 ratio. This means that she got half the land in the form of developed plots. Incidentally, the Chief Minister seemingly admitted that his wife was given developed plots in a better location.
Siddaramaiah said, “What could I have done if they (MUDA) gave me a site in some other place because there was no space on the land that was ours? I didn’t ask for any specific locality. It was MUDA that made the mistake.”
He added, “We didn’t ask for sites to be given in Vijayanagar 3rd or 4th Stage. We simply agreed for a 50:50 ratio.” He stated that his government had scrapped the 50:50 rule in October last year.
“Notwithstanding that, let the authorities give me Rs 62 crore. I got 14 sites in lieu of 3.16 acres. While one acre has 44,000 sqft, what I got was 38,264 sqft. So, I’ve got less,” CM Siddaramaiah had said.
Officials responsible for land acquisition admit CM’s demand started to cause them concern as Farmers demanding higher compensation
Strikingly, his demand has led to a major concern for the development authority as farmers have started to demand higher compensation for their acquired land citing CM Siddaramaiah’s Rs 62 crore formula for 3.16 acre of lands in Mysuru.
Notably, the state govt is in the process of acquiring land for multiple projects in several parts of Karnataka. Among them, farmer groups from Bengaluru Rural, Chikkaballapur, and Kolar districts have started to cite the CM’s example to demand higher compensation.
The farmers’ groups have argued that if the CM can publicly demand Rs 62 crore compensation for his three acres of land, then the land parcels that have been notified for acquisition for various infrastructure projects around Bengaluru should be paid Rs 25 crore per acre as compensation.
According to media reports, officials involved in the land acquisition process have admitted that CM Siddaramaiah’s Rs 62 crore demand has started troubling them.
A farmer leader from the Kolar district emphasised, “The land prices around Bengaluru are higher than in Mysuru. If the CM is demanding such huge compensation for a residential project where there is a provision for allotment of alternative sites, then farmers in and around Bengaluru who have been losing land for roads, industries and other projects should be paid compensation according to the formula laid down by none other than the CM. There cannot be one rule for CM and another for farmers.”
A farmer leader from Chikkaballapur, Anjaneya Reddy said, “The quantum of compensation demanded by the CM is double or triple the guidance value of land prevailing in Mysuru. Compensation for farmers in Bengaluru Rural and Chikkaballapura, where agricultural fields have been notified for acquisition for the special economic zone (SEZ), aerospace park, ring road, and housing projects, should be paid on a similar yardstick. If the govt refuses to pay the farmers on similar grounds, then the CM has no moral right to demand such huge compensation overlooking farmers elsewhere.”
Representative of distressed farmers losing their land for the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) project, Eshwar Reddy said, “We do not know how the CM has arrived at such a huge figure. Given the fact that he is CM, he must have calculated it as per the rules. By the same rules, farmers around Bengaluru should be paid Rs 25 crore for each acre acquired either by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) or the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA). This price should be the model for all other acquisitions.”
He also raised questions over the Congress government’s stance. He noted, “Whenever the government in the state takes land for development projects, it develops it and gives it back in a 60:40 ratio. The government keeps 60% of the developed land, including corner plots, commercial spaces, and other important places, and the farmers get only 40%.”
Highlighting the same, he asked how did MUDA agreed to a 50:50 compensation ratio in Siddaramaiah’s case. He further asked whether the government would offer farmers 60% of developed land.
