Maharashtra’s new chief minister, Prithviraj Chavan, has told all government departments to give the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) all the needed cooperation, including sharing of documents, in the the probe into the Adarsh housing scam.
The scam toppled his predecessor, Ashok Chavan, and got him the job.
Last week, CBI had spoken of lack of cooperation from various state government departments, specifically the revenue, urban development and housing ones. There are 16 serving and retired government officials with apartments in Adarsh. A majority were in positions of influence for pushing files and granting clearances for constructing it.
State chief secretary J P Dange told Business Standard, “The Chief minister has cleared the file asking the government departments concerned to co-operate with CBI in its investigation.”
CBI has been asked to look into the circumstances under which a No Objection Certificate was issued to the housing society and how it got possession of the land from the army, although the latter has deficiency of land in Mumbai for its use. CBI would also look into the extent to which the commitments for welfare of war widows/service personnel were complied with. The society was originally meant for the kin of Kargil war widows.
Ajit Pawar, the new deputy CM, had asked CBI not to restrict its inquiry to politicians but probe bureaucrats’ roles, too.
The Union ministry of environment and forests has already issued a showcause notice for breaches of various regulations to the society.