Fri Jan 17 18:35:59 UTC 2025: ## ED Declares Allotment of 14 Sites to Karnataka CM’s Wife “Illegal”
**Bengaluru, January 18, 2025** – The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has declared the allotment of 14 alternative sites to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife, B.M. Parvathi, as “illegal.” The sites were given in lieu of 3.16 acres of land acquired by the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA). The ED statement, released Friday, implicated former MUDA Commissioner D.B. Natesh as instrumental in the illegal allotment. Natesh has challenged the ED’s actions in the High Court.
The ED alleges that Siddaramaiah used his political influence to secure the sites, although government sources suggest the investigation hasn’t definitively concluded this. The original land acquisition cost ₹3.24 lakh, while the 14 replacement sites in a prime location are valued at approximately ₹56 crore.
The investigation has expanded beyond the initial 14 sites, with the ED provisionally attaching 142 immovable properties worth ₹300 crore. These properties, belonging to real estate businessmen and agents, are linked to other MUDA compensation site allotments and are unrelated to the Chief Minister’s family. Parvathi has since returned the 14 sites to MUDA.
The ED’s investigation uncovered a larger pattern of illegal site allotments by MUDA to real estate entities, resulting in substantial unaccounted cash generated from profitable resales. The probe also revealed the use of benami names and money laundering schemes involving a cooperative society, used to purchase property and luxury vehicles for relatives of former MUDA commissioner G.T. Dinesh Kumar. The ED recovered evidence suggesting illegal gratification was paid to former MUDA officials in the form of immovable property, MUDA sites, and cash.
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