MYSURU: HV Rajeev, former chairman of Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA), on Sunday said the khata and registration of 848 sites in favour of the Jnanaganga House Building Cooperative Society, of which he is the president, was completed over nine days, and there were no irregularities in the land deals.
Speaking to reporters, Rajeev said allegations by BJP MLA TS Srivatsa that he ignored the government’s orders while releasing the sites to the society and completed the khata and registration processes within two days are baseless. “The site allotment was done legally,” he claimed.
“The khatas for the 848 sites were not issued in a single day, but were processed legally in nine days. It was mentioned in the technical report. The sites were approved when I did not preside over MUDA meetings to avoid any conflict of interest. The society had paid the market rate to farmers to acquire the agricultural land.
The land was converted from agricultural to residential use. The land map for 250 acres was approved by MUDA. The society had not encroached on the government land or the PTCL land (under the Karnataka SC and ST-Prohibition of Transfer of Certain Lands-Act). The society has 3,500 members and has allotted 2,500 sites,” he said.
On Srivatsa’s allegation that then MUDA commissioner DB Natesh wrote to the government on February 22, 2022, accusing Rajeev of misusing his powers as MUDA chairman, he said he was unaware of the letter. The letter also accuses Rajeev of acting beyond his jurisdiction and defying the government order and zonal regulations, and keeping files related to the housing society in his office instead of returning them to the MUDA commissioner.
“As I had brought Natesh’s irregularities to the government’s notice, he is making baseless allegations against me. But they are false. Our relationship deteriorated after I started opposing his decisions. Though the government was alerted, no action was taken against him,” he alleged.
“There were several irregularities during Natesh’s tenure as commissioner. The government has set up a one-man judicial commission that is investigating the irregularities. Once the report is submitted, the government will initiate action against the commissioners and officials who were found involved in the irregularities,” he said.