ADARSH

SOCIETY SCAM
AND its
EFFECTS ON
SOCIETY
Submitted by:-
Amar Kondekar – B-25
Sunny Chhangani – A-08
Manasi Sohani – A-52
Jayesh Mishra – A-10
Atharva Institute Of management and
studies

Introduction
Mumbai's posh Colaba area land (about 3800 square meters) with the
complicity of military officers was given to a private housing societiy. But
army took no action in this regard because several army officials,
including former army Chief Deepak Kapoor himself, had flats in this
society. IBN7 did the special investigation on this. This 27-storey building
has been built in Mumbai's Colaba Navy Nagar area. But no one knows
how army gave the permission to build a housing society on this land.

The building was constructed at a place where there used to be Khukri

park, inaugurated by Field Marshal Cariappa. Since 2000 the army used to
maintain the park but after that some army officers attempted to grab this
land. Maharashtra Government Revenue Department issued an order in
2003, in which it was written that the government has decided to hand
over this land occupied by the army to the housing society at a fixed
government rate. However, it was not stated anywhere that the army-
occupied land has been handed over to the housing society.

The Adarsh society, formed in 1994, had 71 members that included

retired top Army officials and Maharashtra bureaucrats who became a
part of the society with a fee of Rs 50,000 each. The society claims it has
necessary clearances but questions are being raised as to how a
residential building with permission for 30 storeys come up near Navy
Nagar, essentially a cantonment and why the Army chose to maintain a
stoic silence

Chief Minister Ashok Chavan’s kith and kin are not the only beneficiaries
of the scam involving allotment of flats in the Adarsh Co-operative
Housing Society in Colaba. Three former CMs — Vilasrao Deshmukh,
Sushilkumar Shinde and Narayan Rane — all of whom have been,
ironically enough, potential contenders for Chavan’s post and at some
point served as the sanctioning authority for the project, also stand
accused of owning flats under ‘benami’ names in Adarsh.

Deshmukh, who is currently the union minister for heavy industries,

reportedly owns three apartments — each one a 3-BHK of 1,076 sq ft
carpet area — on the 15th floor. The flats (1502, 1503 and 1504) are in
the names of Uttam Ghakare, Kiran Bhadange and Amol Kharbari — real
or fictitious individuals whose relationship with Deshmukh is not clear.

Union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde is said to own a 3-BHK flat in
the name of Major NW Khankhoje, while former state revenue minister
Shivajirao Patil Nilengakar allegedly owns two flats in the name of Dr Arun
V Dawle and Sampat R Khidse (flat no 2602).
The Adarsh gravy train has more members on board: Maharashtra
revenue minister Narayan Rane too is accused of owning two 3-BHK flats
on the 17th floor, in the name of Girish Pravinchandra Mehta and Rupali

Harishchandra Raorane. Also, Archana Tiwari, a doctor with Bombay

Hospital, reportedly got a flat in Adarsh by virtue of being a good friend of
Ratnakar Gaikwad, commissioner of Mumbai Metropolitan Regional
Development Authority (MMRDA).

The project had been approved by Chavan himself in 2002 when he was
the revenue minister. Deshmukh, as the then CM, had given the initial
permissions for the construction of Adarsh Society, while Shinde, when he
was the CM in 2004, gave the final sanction for the project

If one looks at the initial list of society members of the Adarsh Co-
operative Housing Society, it comprised 40 members and included mostly
defence personnel. Now the list stands at 103, out of which only 37
members belong to the army and just three members have anything to do
with the Kargil war.

Some of the bureaucrats and politicians who are

accused of fraudulently obtaining flats for themselves or
their relatives:

 Ashok Chavan, chief minister,

 Maharashtra Jairaj Phatak, ex-municipal commissioner (flat in the

name of his son Kanishka J Phatak)

 Ramanand Tiwari, state information commissioner (in the name of

son, Onkar Tiwari)

 Suresh Prabhu, Shiv Sena (own name)

 Pradeep Vyas, ex-collector, Mumbai ( in the name of his wife and

fellow IAS officer Seema Vyas)

 Jitender Awhad, NCP (own name)

 Indris Kundan, ex-ollector, Mumbai (own name)

 Kanhaiyalal Gidwani, Congress (along with 2 sons, Kailash and Amit)

 Uttam Khobragade, BEST GM (in the name of daughter, Devyani, an

Indian Foreign Service official)
  Babasaheb Kupekar, Congress (own name)

 DK Sankaran, Ex-chief secretary (in the name of daughter, Devyani)

 Shriniwas Patil, NCP (own name)

 CS Sangitrao, ex-collector, suburban (in the name of son, Ranjit

Krishnarao Patil, Congress SC Deshmukh,

 Collector, Pune (own name) Arun Pawar, ex-income tax

commissioner (own name)
PV Deshmukh, secretary, urban development (own name)

Army’s Actions on Adarsh Scam

Amid growing anger over the Adarsh Housing Society scam, the Army is
all set to begin its own probe into the controversial allotment of flats to its
retired and serving officers.

The Army, for now, has sought legal opinion on setting up a Court of
Inquiry (CoI) into the issue and will likely issue orders for the same in a
day or two.

The Army probe will focus on the role of some 40 officers.

There are also reports that the Army has already submitted a preliminary
probe report to the Ministry of Defence and is awaiting its nod to take the
investigation further.