The decision of returning 14 land sites by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife BM Parvathi doesn’t seem to have gone down well with the Enforcement Directorate, as the senior officers in the agency called it “an admission of guilt”.
Even though Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) issued an order on Tuesday accepting the land sites back, the investigation into the alleged corruption and money laundering will still proceed in the case as per the rule, News18 has learnt. Her decision “doesn’t absolve her or the family of the offence”, senior officers said.
The scam, estimated at around Rs 250 crore, is under investigation with two ECIRs (Enforcement Case Information Report) in focus.
The investigation
The noose seems to be tightening around the Chief Minister’s family, as the directorate has now lodged another ECIR linked to former Mandal Panchayat President BS Krishna Madegowda and others. The case, based on FIR No. 14/2022, involves allegations of unauthorised construction and illegal allotment of buildings without MUDA approval.
“There has been a lot of manipulation in regard to the land records, and land prices. Even in the land deeds, and the related documents reveal multiple discrepancies. How was the 2015 scheme applied to land acquisitions from the 1990s? And, why was land in Vijayanagara allotted for compensation when land near Kesare Village was available,” asked a senior officer.
“In addition, we have to probe as to why wasn’t Smt Parvathi’s land disclosed in her 2013 election affidavit? These are some of the crucial issues, which need to be investigated under the PMLA,” he explained.
He further pointed out that the compensation might not also be justified, given the higher valuation of Vijayanagara land compared to the original acquisition in Kesare Village, however, these issues are to be probed, he added.
How is MUDA scam unfolding?
The case, that rocked Karnataka politics with the Chief Minister being accused of the offence, involves an acquisition of 3.16 acres of land in Kesare Village, Mysore. The land was originally owned by a Dalit farmer, Ningayya. It was later purchased by Mallikarjunaswamy Devraj, brother-in-law of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, in 2004-05 for Rs 5.90 lakh. The land was later gifted to Parvathy, Siddaramaiah’s wife, in 2010.
MUDA issued acquisition notifications in 1992 and 1998, and by 2014, the land was acquired to form sites for distribution. As compensation, Parvathi received 14 plots in the upscale Vijayanagara area of Mysore, valued at Rs 2 crore each in 2021, under a 50:50 compensation scheme approved in 2020. According to the documents accessed by News18, compensation was provided in Vijayanagara, where land prices were far higher, despite land being available in Kesare Village. This decision by MUDA raised questions about the fairness of the deal, said sources.
Responding to the allegations, the state government formed a four-member committee, led by IAS officer Venkatachalapathi R to investigate irregularities in the compensation scheme, including valuation and allotment processes.
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