n.e.

s ratnam college of arts, science & commerce

Adarsh Co op Housing Society Scam

2012

Introduction:
The Adarsh Housing Society is a cooperative society in the city of Mumbai in India. The origins of the scam go back to February 2002 when a request was made to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra to allot land in the heart of Mumbai for the construction of a housing complex for "the welfare of serving and retired personnel of the Defense Services". Over a period of ten years, top politicians, bureaucrats and military officers proceeded to bend several rules and perpetrate various acts of omission and commission in order to have the building constructed and then get themselves allotted flats in this premier property at artificially lowered prices. As the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India to the President of India in 2011 put it, "The episode of Adarsh Co-operative Housing Society reveals how a group of select officials, placed in key posts, could subvert rules and regulations in order to grab prime government land- a public property- for personal benefit." The Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI), the Income Tax Department and the Enforcement Directorate(ED) are in the process of investigating allegations that three former chief ministers, Sushil kumar Shinde, Vilasrao Deshmukh and Ashok Chavan of the state of Maharashtra were also involved in the scam. In an interview to The Hindu published on 26 March 2012, General VK Singh, the Chief of Army Staff ascribed many of the attempts to malign him during his tenure to, amongst others, those he described as "the Adarsh lobby", those directly connected to the scam, as well as those who were affected by his efforts to rid the army of corruption.

Alleged violations:
The Adarsh society high-rise was constructed in the Colaba locality of Mumbai, which is considered a sensitive coastal area by the Indian Defense forces and houses various Indian Defense establishments. The society is also alleged to have violated the Indian environment ministry rules. The scam is notable for the fact that it was enacted over a period of ten years and required the active involvement of successive officials in many crucial posts. Rules and regulations across many departments and ministries, both at the Centre and the state of Maharashtra, were flouted and bent to allow for the construction of this edifice. Some of the more blatant transgressions included obtaining a No Objection Certificate from the Army towards construction of the building in a

sensitive zone, getting the MMRDA development plan modified and obtaining another NOC for residential development in Coastal Regulation Zone, often through manipulation of records and misrepresentation of facts. Efforts by honest officers to bring this to the notice of top officials were ignored. The issue was first raised in a newspaper report in 2003 but did not evoke any official reaction. In 2010, it was again raised by various newspapers and TV channels. Questions were raised about the manner in which apartments in the building were allocated to bureaucrats, politicians and army personnel who had nothing to do with the Kargil War and the way in which clearances were obtained for the construction of the building of the Adarsh Society. It had led to the resignation of the then Chief Minister, Ashok Chavan. Some of the current allottees of the flats in the Adarsh co-operative society building have offered to return their flats, denying allegations that they were allotted flats because they influenced or helped, in some manner, the construction of the society by violating the rules.

Prime suspects of the SCAM: Charge sheeted by CBI

Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan was among 13 people charge sheeted by CBI in the Adarsh scam on Wednesday with the Congress leader being accused of granting some approvals to the upscale Housing society here as a quid pro quo for allotment of two flats for his kin. Describing as unfortunate and unexpected the 10,000-page charge sheet in connection with alleged irregularities in the scam, Chavan, who was forced to quit as Chief Minister in November 2010 after the scam surfaced, accused his political rivals of trying to implicate him. "This (CBI charge sheet) is unfortunate and unexpected. The Adarsh housing is only an administrative matter. However, there is a conspiracy by my rivals to malign me. The Adarsh issue has been blown out of proportion," he told reporters after the charge sheet was filed in the Sessions court. The central probe agency had registered a case in the scam in the housing society in Colaba on January 29 last year under IPC sections including criminal conspiracy, cheating, and forgery and showing forged documents as genuine, besides sections pertaining to Prevention of Corruption Act. In its charge sheet, CBI charged Chavan with approving additional Floor Space Index (FSI) for the housing society during his tenure as the Chief Minister and alleged that he gave these approvals as a quid pro quo for getting flats allotted

for his mother-in-law and brother-in-law. CBI also accused Chavan of illegally approving allotment of 40% of flats for civilians in the housing society, which was said to be meant for Kargil widows and war heroes, during his tenure as Revenue Minister in 2001-03. He had dealt with files pertaining to the ownership of land. The charge sheet also named retired Army officers -- Brig (retd) MM Wanchoo, Major Generals TK Kaul and AR Kumar, Colonels TK Sinha and R Bakshi, ex-Congress MLC KL Gidwani, IAS officer Jairaj Phatak and former CIC Ramanand Tiwari. Besides them, society members RC Thakur, PV Deshmukh, Subhash Lala and Pradeep Vyas have also been named by the CBI The charge sheet came notwithstanding the claims made by Maharashtra Government before the Bombay High Court that the agency had no jurisdiction in probing the case. CBI informed the Bombay High Court that it was going to file a charge sheet in the case after which the agency submitted the document in the Sessions Court. The statements of union ministers and former chief ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh and Sushil Kumar Shinde, who are under the scanner in the Adarsh scam, have not been incorporated in the charge sheet. "Neither was I associated with allotment of land to the Adarsh society nor did I have anything to do with the list of its members," Chavan said. "I have full faith in the judiciary and am confident that I will be proved innocent and emerge out unscathed," the former Chief Minister said, adding that he would be consulting his legal team and decide further course of action on the issue. The CBI informed the court that though the names of Pradeep Vyas and Jairaj Phatak have been included in the charge sheet, the agency was still awaiting their sanction for prosecution from Department of Personnel. It has dropped two names among the 14 people against whom an FIR was filed in January 29 last year. They are retired Brigadiers PK Rampal and Romesh Chandra Sharma. However, the CBI included the name of retired Col R Bakshi who allegedly gave a letter certifying that the land did not belong to the Army. CBI also said in its chargesheet that benami transactions were still under investigations and the agency might file a supplementary chargesheet in the case. The CBI has cited 150 witnesses in the case.

The allegations in the charge sheet broadly are that Thakur along with Wanchoo conspired with the members of Defense services officers, officials and functionaries of Maharashtra Government with the intention to illegally get the land allotted in favor of Adarsh cooperative housing society in which they were the members. The CBI alleged that records were manipulated and fabricated to get the land allotted in favor of the housing society in an illegal manner and also got various clearances from the Municipal authorities and the state government. According to the charge sheet, former Deputy General Officer in Command Maj Gen Kumar allegedly abused his position and dishonestly and fraudulently issued a purported NOC to the collector Mumbai for the development of the plot. The CBI alleged that former Congress MLA Kaniyalal Gidwani joined the conspiracy with the motive to exercise his personal influence with the public servants in the state Government and offer them membership for showing favour to the society. CBI alleged that the enquiry showed that P V Deshmukh while working as Deputy Secretary in state Urban Development Department, in conspiracy with Thakur and others of the society fraudulently communicated to the Chief Engineer Building Plan, Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) that No Objection Certificate (NOC) was granted by the Union ministry of Environment and Forest. The communication was given though no such move was issued by the Ministry, it said. The CBI charged former Principal Secretary to the state Chief Minister Subhash Lala with allegedly entered into a conspiracy with Ramamnand Tiwari and facilitated the transfer of Floor Square Area from the adjoining land to Adarsh. Two of the close relatives of Lala are having flats in Adarsh Society and Tiwari is also one of the society members. Pradeep Vyas was the collector of Mumbai from August 28, 2002 to May 16, 2005 and he is alleged to have in connivance with the other accused persons of the housing society accepted false documents as proof of income and submitted their membership who was not even eligible. As a quid pro quo his wife was given membership in the society, the CBI alleged. IAS officer Jairaj Phatak, who was the then Municipal Commissioner, has been accused of illegally regularizing the additional floors of the society without referring it to High Rise committee which was headed by a retired High Court judge, the CBI alleged

Current state of the scam:

Death of main suspect: Kanhaiyalal Gidwani

Kanhaiyalal Gidwani, one of the 14 accused in the Adarsh housing scam, died on Tuesday morning following a heart attack. He was 64. The high-profile politician was admitted to Breach Candy hospital on Saturday after he complained of breathlessness. He was cremated at the Shivaji Park crematorium on Tuesday evening. Gidwani, who had been an MLC, had been arrested by the CBI in March 2011 for conspiring with bureaucrats and distorting the concept of Adarsh, which was constructing a 31-storey residential tower in Colaba for retired and serving defence personnel. CBI officials say Gidwani's name as an accused in the case will be struck off following his death. He was under the agency's scanner for allegedly owning 10 flats in Adarsh, three bought through benami transactions in the names of Gajanan Koli, Amol Kharbhari and Kiran Bhadange. To buy the flats, the three took loans from either Gidwani and his sons or firms controlled by the politician. The CBI has concluded that Gidwani is the real owner of the flats. According to the CBI, of the 10 flats, he and his sons officially owned three, and of the remaining four, two were in the names of high-profile members of the state government who helped clear the Adarsh file and two in the name of a prominent politician whose link with the scam has still not been established.

Files of Adarsh scam, other CBI cases missing

Government on Wednesday informed the Lok Sabha that files pertaining to six CBI cases, including Mumbai's Adarsh Housing Society scam, are missing hampering the probe in some of these matters. Minister of state for personnel V Narayanasamy said that though no centralized data about missing of files was maintained, the CBI has informed that files and documents pertaining to six cases have gone missing from some state governments.

Adarsh case: Ashok Chavan granted extension till June 20

Former Maharashtra chief minister and an accused in the Adarsh Housing Society scam, Ashok Chavan, was given an extension till June 20 to file his affidavit

before the judicial panel probing the scam. Chavan was issued summons by the two-member commission on May 10 directing him to file his affidavit with regard to the Adarsh files he had dealt.