CM's wife "illegally" allotted alternative land in Mysuru, alleges BJP; Siddaramaiah denies charge
Bengaluru, Jul 2: The opposition BJP in Karnataka on Tuesday alleged that Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) has "illegally" allotted an alternative land in a posh area to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi against the ‘acquisition’ of close to four acres owned by her.
The Chief Minister rejected the charge saying that his wife was entitled for an alternative land under the "50:50 ratio" scheme, introduced by the previous BJP government, after the MUDA formed a layout on her land without even acquiring it.
Under the scheme, a land loser gets a quarter acre of developed land against the acquisition of one acre of undeveloped land.
Siddaramaiah, who hails from Mysuru. also claimed that an alternative land was given to his wife during the previous BJP government and not during his tenure as the Chief Minister.
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In a post on ‘X’, Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka sought to know how Siddaramaiah will justify the "illegal transfer of land."
He also alleged that when the matter came to light, the concerned officers were transferred, instead of suspending them.
Ashoka said that the Central Bureau of Investigation or a retired high court judge should have probed the matter but the government assigned two IAS officers to investigate it "only to cover up the scam."
“Who gave permission for allotment of land under 50:50 ratio? Who recommended allotment of land in posh areas? Who gave permission for the exchange of land in the posh area without cabinet approval?” the BJP leader sought to know.
Siddaramaiah said his brother-in-law Mallikarjuna had purchased three acres and 36 guntas of land in 1996 and gifted it to his sister, who is Siddaramaiah’s wife. (one acre is 40 guntas).
It was the BJP government which introduced the 50:50 ratio scheme, he said.
“MUDA did not acquire three acres and 36 guntas of land but created plots and sold them out. It is not that my wife’s property was acquired but plots were made and sold out. I don’t know whether MUDA did it knowingly or unknowingly,” the Chief Minister explained.
He added that after plots were made on his wife's land and sold out by MUDA, she was deprived of her property.
“Should we lose our property? Shouldn’t MUDA give us our land legally? When we asked MUDA about it, they said they will give us land as per 50:50 ratio. We agreed to it. Then MUDA gave us equal measurement of sites in different places. What is wrong with that?” Siddaramaiah asked.
Meanwhile, following a report in a vernacular daily about an alleged large-scale scam pertaining to allotment of alternative sites (plots) by MUDA, the Karnataka government ordered an inquiry by a panel headed by Commissioner of Urban Authorities Venkatachalapathy R.
The members in the panel are Additional Director, Town and Country Planning Shashi Kumar M C, Joint Director Town, Country Planning Commissionerate, Shanthala, and Deputy Director, Town and Country Planning, Prakash.
The panel has been asked to submit its report within 15 days, official sources said.
ಗೋಲ್ಮಾಲ್ ಸಿಎಂ
— R. Ashoka (ಮೋದಿ ಅವರ ಕುಟುಂಬ) (@RAshokaBJP) July 2, 2024
₹4,000 ಕೋಟಿ ಗುಳುಂ
ವಾಲ್ಮೀಕಿ ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿ ನಿಗಮದ 187 ಕೋಟಿ ರೂಪಾಯಿ ದಲಿತರ ಹಣವನ್ನ ಗುಳುಂ ಮಾಡಿರುವ 'ಸಿದ್ಧ'ಹಸ್ತರು ಈಗ ಮೈಸೂರಿನ ಮುಡಾದಲ್ಲಿ ₹4,000 ಕೋಟಿ ಗುಳುಂ ಮಾಡುವ ಮೂಲಕ ಮತ್ತೊಮ್ಮೆ ತಮ್ಮ 'ಕೈ'ಚಳಕ ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಗೋಲ್ಮಾಲ್ ಸಿಎಂ @siddaramaiah ನವರೇ, ಈ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳಿಗೆ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಬಳಿ… pic.twitter.com/rhtvPuzkLW
ನನ್ನ ಪತ್ನಿಗೆ ಅವರ ತವರು ಮನೆಯಿಂದ ದಾನವಾಗಿ ಬಂದ ಮೈಸೂರಿನ ರಿಂಗ್ ರೋಡ್ ಬಳಿಯ 3 ಎಕರೆ 16 ಗುಂಟೆ ಜಮೀನನ್ನು ಮೈಸೂರು ನಗರಾಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿ ಪ್ರಾಧಿಕಾರದವರು ಸೈಟ್ ಮಾಡಿ ಬೇರೆಯವರಿಗೆ ಹಂಚಿದರು. ನಾವು ಈ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ವಿಚಾರ ಮಾಡಿ ನ್ಯಾಯ ಕೇಳಿದಾಗ 50:50 ನಿಯಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಬದಲಿ ಜಮೀನು ನೀಡುವುದಾಗಿ ಹೇಳಿದ್ದರು. ನಂತರ ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ಸರ್ಕಾರ… pic.twitter.com/YozVomGfl5
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) July 2, 2024
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Karnataka sees drop in groundwater use, surge in recharge capacity: 2025 report
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Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka has recorded a significant decline in groundwater usage alongside a notable increase in annual recharge capacity, reflecting the impact of sustained water conservation efforts and good rainfall, Minister N S Boseraju said on Wednesday.
Releasing the 2025 Groundwater Assessment Report at Vikas Soudha, he said the gains are the result of good rainfall, focused policy interventions, and large-scale water conservation initiatives implemented over the past two years under the leadership of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.
According to the report, overall groundwater extraction has reduced from 68.44 per cent in 2024 to 66.49 per cent in 2025, indicating more responsible and sustainable usage patterns across the state.
At the same time, annual groundwater recharge capacity has increased from 18.74 billion cubic metres (BCM) in 2024 to 19.28 BCM in 2025, while annual extractable groundwater resources rose from 16.88 BCM to 17.41 BCM, the minister’s office said in a statement.
“This simultaneous reduction in usage and increase in recharge reflects our government’s commitment to long-term water sustainability,” the Minor Irrigation, Science and Technology Minister said.
The improvement has been driven largely by the expansion of water conservation structures (WCS) across the state.
Recharge through such structures increased by 29.11 per cent, from 0.81 BCM to 1.04 BCM within a year, the report stated.
Notably, the number of water conservation works has risen sharply from 3.15 lakh in 2024 to 3.94 lakh in 2025, strengthening the state’s groundwater recharge ecosystem.
The report indicates improvement in groundwater status across 11 taluks, with several regions moving to safer categories.
Highlighting these changes, the minister pointed out that Chamarajanagar taluk has improved from "over-exploited" to "critical".
Similarly, taluks including Athani, Channapatna, Molakalmuru, Ranebennur, Savanur, and Shiggaon have successfully transitioned from "semi-critical" to "safe" status.
Domestic groundwater extraction has also declined by 0.58 per cent, dropping from 1,21,731 hectare-metres (ham) in 2024 to 1,21,023 ham in 2025. Officials attribute this to increased reliance on surface water under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).
Boseraju said that initiatives such as lake rejuvenation, year-round water supply through treated and surface water, sustained public awareness campaigns, and good rainfall have played a key role in reducing over-extraction and enhancing recharge.
“Instead of depending solely on the 120-day monsoon, we are ensuring water availability throughout all 365 days through scientific management. This has strengthened long-term water security for both farmers and urban residents,” he said.
Announcing a major technological step forward in future governance, the minister added, “To further safeguard our resources, we are rolling out the Digital Water Stack (DWS) initiative. Under this framework, we will soon initiate space technology and AI-based satellite surveillance to obtain real-time data for continuous groundwater monitoring.”
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