Left-Right-Centre

• Mar. 14, 2023:  Govt. says MUDA officials accountable for financial loss
• Oct. 27, 2023: Government declares sites distributed under 50:50 ratio illegal

Mysore/Mysuru: The corruption of never heard of infinite proportions that has taken place in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) is a result of rule-breaking decisions made by MUDA itself, such as giving land owners developed sites in a 50:50 ratio.

And some of these land owners are the figment of the MUDA Commissioners’ imagination.

Such large-scale corruption is unprecedented in Karnataka’s history. It is particularly striking that these decisions, which led to numerous irregularities and controversies, were made after discussions in MUDA’s general meetings by its members, MLAs, MLCs, public representatives, senior officials and engineers.

Meeting on Sept. 14, 2020

The 50:50 ratio scheme came up for discussion in the MUDA meeting on Sept. 14, 2020, under Agenda Item No. 18. On this day at the meeting, under the Chairmanship of H.V. Rajeev, it was decided to grant land owners sites as compensation in 50:50 ratio.

It is noteworthy that the issue did not undergo detailed scrutiny at this MUDA meeting. Proponents of the scheme, however, argued that it was within the legal framework and was based on multiple Court cases concerning developing residential layouts without completing land acquisition formalities. But it was an unsubstantiated argument.

Meeting resolution of Nov. 20, 2020

In a meeting held on Nov. 20, 2020, chaired by then MUDA Chairman H.V. Rajeev, the Authority (MUDA) decided that for cases where land had been used without acquisition, 50 percent of the developed area should be allocated as compensation to land owners.

When the then Commissioner Dr. D.B. Natesh proposed the 50:50 ratio under Agenda Item No. 5, MUDA member (then an MLC) Marithibbegowda objected, arguing that this ratio is not applicable to land used without acquisition.

However, Chairman Rajeev noted that if land owners agreed to accept compensation at 50:50 ratio, such cases should be presented to the meeting for approval. He also suggested that for land owners who did not agree, it would be appropriate to advise them to seek redress through the Court of Law.

At that meeting, MUDA member S.A. Ramdas (then an MLA) disagreed to this suggestion of Rajeev arguing that advising land owners to go to Court was not the appropriate approach. He emphasised the need for detailed information before taking any decisions.

Ramdas also pointed out that if land owners who had previously received compensation now sought compensation for the remaining area or the area that has been left out, MUDA was not in a position to approve such claims and pay compensation. He recommended that comprehensive information, case-by-case, be presented at the MUDA meeting.

MLA Tanveer Sait pointed out that even after MUDA had acquired the land and gave compensation to these land owners, many of these land owners sold the same land to others. There are numerous instances where these buyers now own the land that was originally acquired by MUDA. Sait underscored that MUDA has a responsibility to protect its acquired property.

After these discussions, the meeting decided that in cases where land owners agree, 50 percent of the developed area should be allocated as compensation to them, while MUDA retains the remaining 50 percent. This made the 50:50 ratio official. This opened the flood gates for fraudulent allotment of sites by the Commissioners of MUDA.

Government overturns decision

On Oct. 27, 2023, the State Government issued an order declaring the MUDA’s decisions to allocate sites under the 50:50 ratio as illegal.

The Government Order stated that these decisions — granting sites in a 50:50 ratio for cases where land was used without completing the acquisition process or providing compensation — were annulled under Section 67 of the Karnataka Urban Development Authorities Act, 1987. This information was conveyed by K. Latha, Under Secretary of the Urban Development Department, to MUDA.

MUDA responsible for financial loss

The Government took note of the illegal distribution of compensatory sites, alternative sites and ‘piece land’ to land owners or GPA (General Power of Attorney) representatives under the 50:50 ratio.

On March 14, 2023, Urban Development Department Under Secretary Satish Kabadi issued a warning to MUDA Commissioner G.T. Dinesh Kumar, stating that if the Authority incurred financial losses due to violations of laws and regulations, MUDA officials themselves would be held accountable.

Government orders disregarded

Despite repeated warnings and orders from the Government, MUDA officials continued to disregard these directives and have not revoked its decisions. Instead, MUDA officials, led by the Commissioner, have illegally distributed thousands of sites, including to non-land owners, non-land-losers and GPA representatives, citing Court rulings from other cases.

This corruption of fathomless depth, involving thousands of crores of rupees, is the central aspect of the MUDA scam.