Bengaluru: The State Government yesterday constituted a Judicial Commission to probe into the alleged scam in land allotments by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA). Justice Padmaraj Nemachandra Desai, a retired judge of the Karnataka High Court, is the sole member of the Commission.

“The Government has decided to constitute a Commission of Inquiry to conduct an inquiry by a retired Judge of the Hon’ble High Court under sub-rule (1) of Rule 3 of the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952,” the Government said in a notification.

The Commission was constituted just hours before the State Legislature’s Monsoon Session, which began today. The Congress State Government constituted the commission after allegations of large-scale irregularities in land allotment by MUDA, especially under a 50:50 land exchange scheme created in 2020 during the BJP regime.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi is also an alleged beneficiary of the controversial scheme after being allotted 14 prime plots in Mysuru in exchange for a 3.16-acre parcel of land outside Mysuru city that was gifted to her in 2010.

The BJP has demanded a Central Investigation Agency (CBI) probe into the MUDA scam. Legislators across party lines allegedly benefited from illegal land allotments — even after the 50:50 land exchange scheme deemed illegal by the State Government was halted in October 2023.

“Allegations regarding land allocation in the MUDA have not only come to the Government’s attention but have also been reported in daily newspapers and media. Convinced that it is appropriate to conduct an inquiry in this case, the Government has decided to constitute a                                                    Commission of Inquiry to conduct an inquiry by a retired Judge of the Hon’ble High Court,” the Government said in the notification for creation of the inquiry commission.