Vishwanath clarifies on allotment of alternative MUDA site

Former Minister and MLC A.H. Vishwanath on Tuesday said he had sought an alternative Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) residential site as the allotted site was unfit to build a house.

Former Minister and MLC A.H. Vishwanath on Tuesday said he had sought an alternative Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) residential site as the allotted site was unfit to build a house.

Reacting to charges levelled against him by MUDA chairman Mari Gowda and Congress MLA Harish Gowda that he too was a “beneficiary” in MUDA, Mr. Vishwanath said his wife had applied for a MUDA site in June 2001 and was allotted a 60X40 site in Devanur 3rd stage after 21 years.

As the originally allotted site was near the Varuna canal and unfit to build a house, Mr. Vishwanath said he had sought allotment of an alternative site. The MUDA had allotted him an alternative site in the same Devanur 3rd stage layout unlike Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife, who had been allotted sites in Vijayanagar 3rd and 4th stage layouts, he said.

When asked for the reason for allotting sites to Mr. Siddaramaiah’s wife in Vijayanagar 3rd and 4th stage instead of Devanur 3rd stage layout, where her lands had been acquired for development, it was “falsely” cited that no sites were available in Devanur 3rd stage. But, allotment of site to his wife in Devanur 3rd stage proved that sites were available, Mr. Vishwanath argued.

“Why one law for Mr. Siddaramaiah’s wife and another for my wife?” he questioned. Mr. Vishwanath took strong exception to the “unfounded allegations” levelled against him by Mr. Mari Gowda and Mr. Harish Gowda.

He also strongly criticised Minister for Social Welfare H.C. Mahadevappa, who is also Minister in charge of Mysuru district, for claiming that no irregularity had taken place in MUDA. Mr. Mahadevappa’s statement was tantamount to disrespecting the government’s decision to appoint a four-member committee headed by an IAS officer to look into the alleged irregularities.

Alleging that the scam in MUDA runs into several crores of rupees, Mr. Vishwanath urged the government to refer the probe to the CBI.