Mysore/Mysuru: The One-Man Judicial Inquiry Commission, headed by retired High Court Justice Padmaraj Nemachandra Desai, has concluded its investigation into the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) sites allotment scam, submitting its final report to the Karnataka Government.

The State Cabinet has accepted the report, which gives a clean chit to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his family,

stating that there is no evidence linking them to the irregularities.

However, the Judicial Inquiry Commission has recommended action against several officials involved in the now-defunct MUDA’s controversial 50:50 sites allotment scheme.

With the probe officially closed, the Government has ordered the withdrawal of all facilities extended to the Commission. The investigation, which lasted nearly a year, came at a staggering cost of Rs. 5 crore, entirely borne by the Mysuru Development Authority (MDA) — the rebranded version of MUDA.

Office at Kumarakrupa Guest House

The Judicial Inquiry Commission’s office was set up at Kumarakrupa Guest House in Bengaluru. To assist the Commission, all necessary infrastructure — including furniture, stationery, computers, laptops and printers — was provided by the MDA to facilitate the inquiry.

The Commission, comprising Justice Desai, one more judge, one office superintendent, three staff members and three drivers, operated from July 2024 onwards.

During this period, MDA bore all expenses, including salaries, travel and daily allowances, rent for the guest house room, electricity bills, newspaper subscriptions, food and hospitality for the Commission members, and maintenance of computers, laptops and printers. The total expenditure reportedly amounted to Rs. 5 crore.

Constituted in July 2024

On July 2, 2024, Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh held an emergency meeting with MUDA officials in Mysuru, and that very evening, the Government issued an order constituting the Desai Commission.

Subsequently, the Commission operated from a well-equipped office at Kumarakrupa Guest House, with MDA supplying daily documentation as requested.

Original files related to land allotments were retrieved from the archives, photocopied in bulk, and authenticated by designated special Tahsildars before being dispatched to Bengaluru.

This meticulous process involved the duplication and transfer of thousands of files, amounting to several lakh pages.

Office closure process

With the inquiry now complete, Justice Desai wrote to MDA Commissioner K.R. Rakshith requesting withdrawal of all facilities provided to the Commission and closure of its office.

Following the directive, MDA Assistant Executive Engineer Sampath Kumar visited Bengaluru last week and retrieved all equipment and materials supplied to the Commission. These items were secured in MDA store room and keys handed over to the Commissioner.

While the Government had mandated MDA to fund the Commission’s operations, concerns have emerged over the effectiveness of the investigation.

Despite the scale of the alleged scam — where sites worth thousands of crores of rupees were reportedly misallocated — the final report has not yielded conclusive findings.

This discrepancy has sparked public concern, with tax-payers questioning the justification behind the Rs. 5 crore spent on an inquiry that appears to have left critical truths unresolved.