Karnataka: Land de-notification fans fresh controversy for CM Siddaramaiah
The opposition party continues to target Siddaramaiah over irregularities in the allotment of plots to his wife by MUDA.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has opened a fresh front in its efforts to corner the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka by raking up the controversial de-notification of land in Arkavathy layout, Bengaluru, during the first tenure of chief minister Siddaramaiah between 2013 and 2018.
This comes even as the opposition party continues to target Siddaramaiah over irregularities in the allotment of plots to his wife by MUDA (Mysore Urban Development Authority) .
BJP Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka, Lahar Singh Siroya, led the attack on the state government, accusing it of suppressing the findings of the justice HS Kempanna commission that was set up in 2014 to probe the alleged illegal de-notification of land; it submitted its report in 2017. The report found that over 325.62 acres of land were illegally released from acquisition in Arkavathy layout, a clear violation of Supreme Court guidelines.
Siroya alleged that the land could be worth thousands of crores, adding that the de-notification process was compromised during Siddaramaiah’s first term. He claimed that despite the gravity of the findings, the commission’s report was never tabled in the state assembly, and its recommendations were never implemented by the Congress government. “Siddaramaiah has consistently claimed that there was no illegality in the de notification process, but his own government’s commission has proven otherwise,” Siroya stated.
He further alleged that the report, which spans over 1,861 pages, had been intentionally hidden from public scrutiny by the Congress government. “The current Congress administration continues to block the report, even after Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot requested a copy for his perusal. This resistance by the state government is unconstitutional,” Siroya added.
On September 21, Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot sought from the state government a report of the justice Kempanna commission, which probed the alleged illegal de-notification in Arkavathy layout. Since then, the Karnataka government has asked all departments not to respond to requests from governors’ office without consulting the cabinet.
To be sure, the BJP which ruled the state between 2019 and 2023 did not act on the report either.
But the political climate in the state has since changed, with the unwritten code of parties not targeting each other over corruption being abandoned.
BJP MP Siroya demanded immediate legal action, insisting that a first information report (FIR) be filed against those involved, based on the commission’s findings. “The commission has provided enough evidence to hold officials accountable, especially those in the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and other departments involved in the illegal de-notification,” he argued.
Siroya also connected the Arkavathy layout case to other corruption scandals allegedly involving the Congress government, including the MUDA and Valmiki Corporation ones.
The MUDA case pertains to a land deal when a 3.16 acre land plot was gifted to Sidda’s wife BM Parvathi by her brother, Mallikarjuna Swamy in 2010. MUDA illegally developed the land between 2011-13, following which Parvathi, in 2014, sought compensation. In 2017, MUDA agreed to compensate her and five years later, she was given 14 plots. The complainants argue that allotted plots were far more valuable than the original land.
Meanwhile, the other case revolves around the misappropriation of funds from the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation. The illegal appropriation of funds came to public attention in May following the suicide of the corporation’s accounts superintendent, who accused officials for the unauthorised transfer of ₹187 crore to various bank accounts in his death note.
According to the justice Kempanna commission, the illegal de-notification involved releasing land under several categories, including 111.20 acres under category-B, 16.22 acres under category-C, and 198.20 acres under category-D. These actions were found to have violated Supreme Court and Karnataka high court guidelines. The commission further recommended disciplinary action against the officials responsible for these violations, but these recommendations were never implemented by the government.
Chief minister Siddaramaiah hit back, questioning why the BJP didn’t release the report during its four-year tenure in power. “What was the BJP doing when they were in charge? Why didn’t the previous government release the Justice Kempanna commission report?” he asked.
Siddaramaiah responded that he would look into the Governor’s request for a copy of the report, but also pointed out that another inquiry committee, headed by justice KN Keshavanarayana, was formed to review the same issue. The Keshavanarayana committee was tasked by the Karnataka high court in 2021 to determine if the de-notification complied with court orders.
The justice Kempanna commission, established in 2014, was part of Siddaramaiah’s response to opposition allegations of irregularities in the Arkavathy layout de-notification process.