Bengaluru: The Justice PN Desai Commission, which investigated alleged irregularities in the Mysore Urban Development Authority (Muda), has unearthed a web of scams involving ghost compensation claims, repeated land sales, and illegal site allotments in collusion with Muda officials and private parties between May 2020 and June 2024.While the commission cleared CM Siddaramaiah and his family of any wrongdoing, it exposed startling practices, including compensation claims filed in the name of deceased landowners and boundary demarcations being erased to facilitate fraudulent sales.“It is observed that in some cases as the owner of the land was not available, either he was dead or there were no persons to receive compensation on his behalf and sometimes, the owner has refused to receive the compensation amount… In such cases, as per the land acquisition act, the compensation has to be deposited in the court and the same was returned to Muda asking it to redeposit the amount after bifurcating the compensation amount survey number wise and owner wise… But in a large number of cases, such an amount as directed by the court was not redeposited into the court. This resulted in parties claiming compensation in the form of sites stating that compensation was not paid to them,” the report, partially accessed by TOI, stated.The commission flagged that landowners who had already executed registered relinquishment deeds in Muda’s favour were able to make fresh claims.“No mutation was carried out, the name of Muda was not recorded in the RTC, which resulted in some persons claiming compensation in the form of sites again after the lapse of decades by making false claims,” the report noted. Further irregularities were discovered in the resale of compensation sites.“Sites allotted by Muda in lieu of compensation for the lands utilised without acquisition were sold by the said allottees on the same day or within a week of registration of the sale deed in their favor,” the report said.The commission said these sites often changed hands multiple times within months, each time at a higher price.“It is also noted from the records that such subsequent purchase has again sold the said property for higher consideration. The commission has come across that within a short period of three months or so from the date of allotment letter issued by the commissioner in some cases there are three sale deeds each time showing higher consideration with a difference of more than Rs 10-15 lakh,” it observed.Expressing alarm at the role of sub-registrars in enabling the scam, the report stated: “It is very strange that how the sub-registrar determines and accepts the market value of the same property shown in the sale deed with such large variation in the consideration amount within such a short period.”The commission concluded that these were deliberate acts by Muda commissioners and officials in collusion with land-grabbers. It described the pattern as “one of the circumstances to show that the sites are allotted as compensation illegally by the then commissioners working from May 2020 to June 2024 and other officials and officers of Muda in collusion with the land grabbers.”Other modus operandiMultiple sales of same site: Allotted plots sold quickly, often multiple times within months, inflating prices.Compensation in name of deceased: Payments claimed for owners who were dead or unavailable.Non-registration/mutation: Relinquished lands not recorded in RTC, enabling repeated claims.Collusion in boundary removal: Site demarcations erased to facilitate illegal claims.Sub-registrar manipulation: Market values accepted with large, unexplained variations.Alternate site allotments: Sites allotted citing encroachment, smaller size, or non-existent plots.Bogus road compensation claims: Land allegedly used for ring/outer ring roads though records show none acquired.Eom
