MUDA ''scam'': BJP to hold "mega" protest in home district of CM on July 12, demands his resignation
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka BJP will be holding a "mega" protest in Mysuru on July 12 in connection with an alleged fraudulent allotment of sites to land losers by Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), which involves plots given to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi, its president B Y Vijayendra said on Wednesday, and demanded the CM's resignation.
The protesters will demand allocation of sites to the poor by withdrawing those distributed illegally, and a CBI probe into the "scam" as the allegations are against the Chief Minister and his family, he said, adding that the BJP will also raise the issue during the coming Assembly session.
It is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land which had been "acquired" by the MUDA.
The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where MUDA developed a residential layout.
The controversial scheme envisages allotting 50 per cent of developed land to the land loser in lieu of undeveloped land acquired for forming layouts.
Speaking about the alleged MUDA "scam", Vijayendra accused the Chief Minister of giving wrong information to the public. "The CM's true face has come out in the open."
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"At every stage in this land scam, irregularities have been committed, " he alleged. "The Chief Minister has to answer to the people and should take the responsibility for the scam....the CM, who promised Rs 2,000 (a month) to poor women, has given 14 sites worth more than Rs two crore each, together worth about Rs 63-64 crore to his wife."
"If there is any CM in the country, who committed irregularities during his term and sought compensation from his own government, it is Siddaramaiah," Vijayendra added.
Vijayendra noted that 14 sites that were given to Parvathi by MUDA are said to be in accordance with land acquisition act 1991 as per records. But he pointed out that according to the act, if the land that has been acquired is between three to four acres, only two sites of 40x60 square feet measurement should be given in lieu of the land acquired.
"So, the CM's wife should have got only two sites of 40x60 (square feet) measurement. Which means, 14 sites that have been given are completely in violation of rules," he said, alleging "misinformation" on the part of the CM by claiming that his wife received sites which were worth only Rs 18 crore, while she was supposed to have received compensatory sites worth more than Rs 62 crore.
The guidelines value of 14 sites that have been given to CM's wife by MUDA as on today is Rs 3,000 per sqft, while the market value is more than Rs 9,000 per sqft, he claimed.
Vijayendra also alleged that Siddaramaiah has not mentioned this over three acres of land belonging to his wife in his 2013 Assembly election affidavit, which is a clear case of violation of Model Code of Conduct and Representation of the People Act.
"We are discussing complaining to the Election Commission about this," he added.
Alleging that Urban Development Minister B S Suresha (Byrathi Suresha) rushed to Mysuru, the home district of Siddaramaiah, hurriedly called a MUDA meeting as the scam came to the fore, and transferred officials instead of punishing them, the state BJP chief said, "more than Rs 5,000 crore worth sites have been allotted to influential people. The Minister is trying to protect officials involved in the scam."
The Deputy Commissioner of Mysuru district, who inquired about the MUDA scam and submitted a report to the government, has been transferred, he said, alleging that the Minister has tried to cover up the scam, and has himself carried all the relevant files from MUDA office in Mysuru to Bengaluru.
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Prez nod for FIR against AAP's Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain in Rs 2,000-cr classroom 'scam'
New Delhi, Mar 13 (PTI): President Droupadi Murmu has given her approval for the registration of an FIR against AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain in an alleged scam of Rs 2,000 crore in the construction of classrooms in Delhi government schools, sources said.
In 2022, the Delhi government's vigilance directorate recommended a probe into the alleged scam and submitted a report to the chief secretary.
The President has given her approval for registering the FIR against Sisodia and Jain in connection with the alleged scam during their tenures as ministers in the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government, the sources said.
The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), in a report dated February 17, 2020, highlighted "glaring irregularities" in the construction of classrooms in Delhi government schools by the Public Works Department (PWD).
The President's approval came under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act that pertains to "enquiry or inquiry or investigation of offences relatable to recommendations made or decision taken by public servant in discharge of official functions or duties".
Reacting to the development, senior AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj accused the BJP of carrying out a witch-hunt against its political rivals.
The BJP has no interest or intention to fulfil the promises it made to the people of Delhi. Its only agenda is to carry out a witch-hunt against its political rivals to stifle the voice of people, the former minister said in a statement.
The BJP-led central government has already decided to prosecute every political adversary of the party and grant approvals to move the case forward but it should wait for the judicial process to begin, he said.
In July 2019, BJP leader Harish Khurana and then AAP rebel MLA Kapil Mishra, now a minister in the Delhi government, lodged a police complaint about the alleged scam.
According to a report prepared by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of the Delhi government, the complainants alleged that there was a scam worth over Rs 2,000 crore in the construction of classrooms and school buildings in Delhi. The work was done at a highly inflated cost by the Delhi government.
The alleged scam involves the construction of around 12,748 classrooms.
The ACB report said the total expenditure incurred for constructing the classrooms and school buildings was around Rs 2,892.65 crore. They were allegedly constructed at the rate of Rs 8,800 per square feet, whereas it was common knowledge that the average construction cost (even for a builder of flats) was around Rs 1,500 per square feet.
The total cost for constructing a classroom and school building, according to the tender awarded, was allegedly around Rs 24.86 lakh per room, whereas such rooms are easily constructed in Delhi at around Rs 5 lakh per room, it said.
The prices were increased almost five times to defraud the taxpayer by siphoning off money from the public exchequer in the garb of construction cost, the report said.
Even for a 5-star hotel, top ultra-luxury quality construction is around Rs 5,000 to Rs 5,500 per square feet, it said.
The complainants submitted a copy of documents in which information received under the RTI Act in respect of the construction of 18 classrooms in the Govt Girls Senior Secondary School, Nathupura, Burari (school ID:-1207111) revealed that they were constructed at a cost of Rs 12 crore, the ACB report said.
