Wadiyars say Chamundi Authority unconstitutional as hill is their private property

Mysuru: Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, member of the erstwhile royal family, said that the enactment of Shree Chamundeshwari Kshetra Development Authority Act, 2024, by the Karnataka government is unconstitutional as the Chamundi Hill is their private property.

Addressing a media conference here on Monday, Wadiyar said that the High Court has passed an interim order on July 27, 2024, directing the respondent (Karnataka government) not to give effect to the ‘impugned act’ till further directions, on the basis of her writ petition dated July 19, 2024.\

Ecology

She said, her intention behind questioning the validity of the Act, is to safeguard the sanctity and ecology of the hill. “We have the example of landslides in Kodagu district and also in Wayanad of the neighbouring Kerala. The government intends to promote Sri Chamundeshwari Devi Temple and the hill as a tourist destination, neglecting the religious and spiritual sentiments of the devotees,” she said.

Already a writ petition, challenging the taking over of Sri Chamundeshwari Devi Temple and temples on the hill and also around the Mysuru Palace, both within the fort and abutting the fort, by the Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments department (formerly Muzarai department), is pending before the court, since 2001.

Agreement of 1950

“How will you feel, if the government forms an authority to manage and develop your personal property? The Act is constitutionally invalid and liable to be struck down, as it violates Articles 14, 19, 21 and 26 of the Constitution. The temples are enlisted as private properties in the agreement between the Maharaja of Mysuru Jayachamaraja Wadiyar and the Government of India, on January 23, 1950. The rights of the erstwhile rulers, acknowledged in the agreement, were further recognised by the government, through the memo dated October 28, 1972, even after the 26th Amendment to the Constitution, that struck down the privy purse of the erstwhile rulers of various states across Bharat, including Mysuru,” Wadiyar pointed out.

In reply to a question, if the erstwhile royal family would shoulder the management of the temples, in view of their appeal of the government, in 1974, to manage the palaces and temples, as it was difficult for them to manage them, Pramoda Devi Wadiyar said, the question is speculative. But, she said, the situation in 1974 was different from 2024 and a decision would be taken on the basis of the outcomes of her writ petitions.

In an indirect reference to the statements of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, in the wake of the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam, Wadiyar said that if others seek compensation for the encroachment of their properties, we also should get compensation, for our lands.

It can be noted that the CM’s wife Parvathi has got 14 sites in Vijayanagar Layout, for the lands she lost in Kesare. However, Siddaramaiah had stated that MUDA has allotted only 38,000 sq feet of sites for encroachment of 1.5 lakh sq feet of their lands, and the real compensation would be around Rs 62 crore.

Wadiyar said, her family lands have been encroached upon and usurped in Mysuru and across the present 14 districts of Karnataka, including Bengaluru, and she has not got any compensation for them.

“Regarding the Rs 1 crore transferable development rights (TDR) given by the Karnataka government, for 15 acres of the Bengaluru Palace, my other family members have filed a case,” she said in response to a question.