Pramoda Devi Wadiyar of the erstwhile royal family of Mysuru addressing a press conference in Mysuru on April 14, 2025.
| Photo Credit: M A Sriram
Pramoda Devi Wadiyar of the erstwhile royal family of Mysuru sought to reassure the residents of Siddayyanapura village in Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka that there is no need for them to be worry over her letter staking claim to more than 4,500 acres of land, reportedly belonging to the erstwhile royal family.
Addressing a press conference in Mysuru on April 14, Ms. Wadiyar reiterated the erstwhile royal family’s claim over the land pertaining to various survey numbers in the district, as per the 1951 agreement between the then maharaja of Mysore and the government of India.
“Even if the ownership of the land is transferred in the name of the erstwhile royal family,” Ms Wadiyar assured, “no trouble will be caused to the villagers.”
When reporters brought to her notice the claim by villagers that the late maharaja of Mysore Sri Jayachamaraja Wadiyar had gifted the land to them, Ms. Wadiyar said she is not aware of the matter, but sought to assure people that no effort will be made to take back the land that had been gifted by the late maharaja.
“If the land is gifted, there would be records. Let them show it. Why would we snatch the land that is gifted?” she said. “Even if the villagers did not have records to show that the land had been gifted to them, the erstwhile royal family will not cause any trouble to the villagers.”
She said the doors of the Mysuru palace office were open to the villagers. “Let them come and meet me with the documents,” she said and added that the erstwhile royal family will facilitate the villagers without the intervention of the government of Karnataka.
Deputy Commissioner of Chamarajanagar Shilpa Nag has said that the letter by Ms. Wadiyar was not accompanied by any supporting document.
| Photo Credit:
M A Sriram
Reacting to a statement by Deputy Commissioner of Chamarajanagar Shilpa Nag that the letter by Ms. Wadiyar was not accompanied by any supporting document, Ms. Wadiyar sought to make it clear that the supporting documents listing the survey numbers had been made available to the district administration way back in 2014. “The present Deputy Commissioner may not be aware of that,” she said.
She said the present situation would not have arisen had the government of Karnataka informed the family about the proposal to create a revenue village in parts of the land belonging to the erstwhile royals.
“Though I made efforts to contact the Deputy Commissioner,” Ms. Wadiyar claimed, “she could not be reached on the phone, but I left a message, which has neither been acknowledged nor responded to.”
Published – April 14, 2025 04:01 pm IST
