Maha govt forced to revoke occupation cert to Adarsh

Mumbai: Exactly five days after the Times of India blew the lid off the Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society scam, embarrassed chief minister Ashok Chavan on Friday revoked the occupation certificate granted to it by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, also headed by him. “I have taken serious note of the series of reports in the Times of India on the irregularities in the society. In view of the stringent criticism, I have asked MMRDA to revoke the occupation certificate forthwith. We will wait for the report of the ministry of environment and forests on the violation of CRZ norms. If the report is adverse, we will abide by MoEF’s advice. If it directs us, the OC will be revoked forever,” Chavan said.



In an hour-long interview at his official residence Varsha, Chavan put up a brave front, saying he welcomed the decision of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct a suo motu probe into the controversial housing society whose members comprise leading politicians, bureaucrats and military officials.
“My government has extended full cooperation to the CBI. Whatever information they sought has been submitted to them by the Mumbai collector. We hope the CBI will conduct the probe as early as possible. We will decide the course of action against the erring members and the society after we get the CBI report,” Chavan said.
The CM claimed that the land allotted to the society belonged to the state government and that there was no reservation for Kargil war heroes.
“I have personally verified all the land records. The land belongs to the revenue department, but it was in the illegal possession of the defence wing. Since it was in their possession, the Mumbai collector obtained a no objection certificate from the defence department before allotting the land to Adarsh Society,” he said. “When the society was in the initial stages, there was a proposal for granting membership to three Kargil heroes. Accordingly, the society granted them the membership.”
The CM also claimed that his government had played absolutely no role in the entire membership process. “I never asked the society to admit 40 civilians as members. In fact, during the formation of the society or when the land was allotted, I was neither the revenue minister nor the chief minister. In my opinion, the whole issue appears to be politically motivated,” he said.

Service chiefs offer to return flats

New Delhi: Facing embarrassing heat over their ownership of flats in the Adarsh Housing Society, built in the name of Kargil war widows, three former military chiefs, Gen Deepak Kapoor, Gen N C Vij and Admiral Madhvendra Singh, on Friday offered to give up their apartments.
In the joint statement, the former service chiefs said: “At no stage were we aware that these flats were meant for Kargil war widows as claimed by some sections of the media. If this be so, we have absolutely no hesitation in returning these flats allotted to us to the authorities concerned.”
The statement, however, appear conditional and left several questions unanswered, among them when would they return the flats or if they would wait for the ongoing investigations to end. Besides, it was unclear on whether other illegalities about the building, apart from the land being given for war widows, would also spur them to return the flats. Those behind Adarsh Housing Society have used various claims, including the name of Kargil widows, to justify the construction of the apartment complex in the prime Mumbai locality of Colaba. In some communications they have said it was being built in the name of war widows and service personnel, in some others they had invoked the name of Kargil widows and still in some other cases they had promised a girls' hostel for the children of military personnel.
“For the past few days, we have been following with utter dismay, the controversy that has arisen over the allotment of flats in the Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society,” said the statement, which was read out in Jaipur on Friday by Admiral Singh. The former navy chief, who was the head of Mumbai-based Western Naval Command when the society was taking shape, did not take any questions. “Having spent a lifetime in the armed forces in the service of the nation, and in looking after the welfare of our troops, it was never our intention to deprive anyone of their due,” added the statement. It ended with the patriotic “Jai Hind”.