Ongoing Adarsh scam today took a new twist after the Judicial Commission appointed by the Maharashtra government has observed that the land, where the 31-storey cooperative housing society is located, belongs to the state government and not of ministry of defence. Further, the commission comprising Justice JA Patil (retired) and former chief secretary P Subrahmanyam, said that there was no reservation of defence personnel or Kargil War heroes for the land or for the membership of the Adarsh society.
The interim report regarding these two terms of reference tabled by the chief minister Prithviraj Chavan in the state assembly has given a much needed relief to former chief ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushilkumar Shinde and Ashok Chavan. During the chief ministership of trio various clearances for the Adarsh society were given by the government and its undertakings. More importantly, for Ashok Chavan, who had to step down in November 2010, the interim report has given a new lease of life as the commission has clearly ruled that there was no reservation for kin and kith of Kargiol heroes in Adarsh society. Congress party high command asked Chavan to resign from the chief ministership after heated debate and campaign that the government simply dumped reservation for wives of Kargin heroes and the membership was given to former army officials and poiliticians.
The interim report comes at a time when Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested nine persons including three state bureaucrats in connection with Adarsh scam.
The Commission, which was appointed by the state government through a notification on January 8, 2011, said the ministry of defence has failed to establish its claim of title to the land in question. However, this was not so with the claim of the Maharashtra government. "Their claim stand established in view of the provisions of section 294 of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966 which came into force on August 15, 1967 and there is no evidence to show that on that date the land in question was occupried by anybody." Moreover, the Commission said that occupation of land by anybody has been corroborated by other factors such as admissions on the part of the ministry of defence, absence of entry in respect of the land in question in the Maharashtra Land Reveue Code and the inaction on the part of army and ministry of defence to assert their alleged right.
On the terms of reference regarding reservation for housing defence personnel or Kargil war, the Commission referred to the submission made by Adarsh society's chief promoter RC Thakur that the society was proposed much prior to Kargil war and hence there was no question of this soceity being formed for the purpose of Kargil heroes and or the flats to be constructed would be only for Kargil heroes. Thakur had stated that the Adarsh society was formed in 1994 and registered on September 28, 2004. Further, Kanhaiyalal Gidwani, who is recently arrested by CBI in connection with Adarsh scam, had also stated in his affidavit of evidence that there was no reservation of defence personnel or Kargil war heroes.
According to the Commission, there was no government resolution or notification issued by the state government providing reservation of the land for the defence personnel or Kargil war heroes. "In fact, at the time of the argument the learned counsel for ministry of defence, Government of Maharashtra or even Adarsh cooperative housing society uniformly submitted that there was no such reservation. In view of this position, there is no difficulty in recording a negative finding on terms of reference with regard to reservation for housing defence personnel or Kargil was heroes," the Commission noted.
