Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has taken decisive action by establishing an inquiry commission to investigate the alleged alternative site scandal within the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA). The commission, headed by retired High Court judge Justice P N Desai, will conduct a thorough inquiry and deliver its findings to the state government within six months.
In an order issued late Sunday night ahead of the upcoming Legislature session from July 15 to 26, the government mandated that all relevant departments and MUDA officials fully cooperate with Justice Desai by providing necessary documents and information.
The controversy erupted following allegations by the BJP that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife, Parvathi, was among those who benefitted from alternative sites. In response, Siddaramaiah refuted the claims, asserting that MUDA had taken possession of his wife’s four-acre land without permission and developed a layout illegally. He stated that MUDA compensated the family with alternative plots.
The BJP has cast doubt on these assertions, questioning how MUDA could have dealt with such a prominent property without scrutiny. The party estimates the magnitude of the scandal to be around ₹3,000 crore and staged a protest in Mysuru on Friday regarding the matter.