Bengaluru, 16 Oct

Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) Chairman K Marigowda quit on Wednesday, amid a row over irregularities in allotment of sites to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi BM.

He submitted his resignation from the post to the Urban Development Department Secretary. "I have resigned following directions from the CM. Also, as I had health issues, I have resigned...there was no pressure on me, as I had health issues I have resigned," Marigowda, who is considered close to Siddaramaiah, told reporters here.

Responding to a question, he said, "Probe is on (in MUDA case allegedly involving CM) and it will continue...it will be known from the probe whether there were any irregularities."

Siddaramaiah is facing the Lokayukta and ED probes into alleged irregularities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife by the MUDA.

Siddaramaiah's wife, brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, Devaraju -- from whom Mallikarjuna Swamy purchased land and gifted it to Parvathi -- and others are named as other accused in the case by Lokayukta.

Stating that Siddaramaiah is his leader and he has been with him for 40 years, Marigowda said, "He made me taluk and zilla panchayat president, has never asked to do illegal things, even on the MUDA issue."

Asked whether he was resigning to "save" the CM, he said, "No. I'm resigning on personal grounds. I had a stroke twice. I felt I cannot continue, so I have resigned."

To a question whether there was pressure on him to quit from Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh, Marigowda said, "it is far from the truth."

On 27 September, Congress workers and CM's supporters, who had gathered in large numbers in a show of support to Siddaramaiah at the Mysuru airport on his arrival there, tried to gherao Marigowda alleging that he was responsible for the CM's "plight."

Despite his attempts to explain, they did not listen to him and asked him to go back, following which he left the scene.

In the MUDA site allotment case, it is alleged that 14 compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife in an upmarket area in Mysuru (Vijayanagar Layout 3rd and 4th stages), which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land which had been "acquired" by MUDA.

The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where it developed a residential layout. Under the controversial scheme, MUDA allotted 50 per cent of developed land to the land losers in lieu of undeveloped land acquired from them for forming residential layouts.

It is alleged that Parvathi had no legal title over this 3.16 acres of land at survey number 464 of Kasare village, Kasaba hobli of Mysuru taluk.