Adarsh scam: Chavan holds Deshmukh responsible

Mumbai, June 20 (ANI): Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan today filed an affidavit before the Justice Patil Commission in the Adarsh Housing scam, saying the prime land was sanctioned by Union Rural Development Minister and his predecessor Vilasrao Deshmukh, and added that he has done nothing wrong or illegal in the allotment of flats.

"Vilasrao Deshmukh as well as Ashok Chavan have both stated that they have acted in good faith and they have proved their bonafides. They have got all the materials, which was given to them by the bureaucrats. On their material supplied to them they have acted on the thing in issue," said Dipen Merchant, advocate of Commission of Enquiry.

Passing the buck to the bureaucrats, Chavan in his eight-page affidavit said that he had made all procedural clearances.

Chavan in his affidavit said that the decision for allotment of land took place more than 16 months after he ceased to be the Revenue Minister.

"As far as ownership is concerned he (Chavan) said that the file was put up before me as a revenue minister. He had called a meeting and after meeting people he had passed on the file to the collector to check up all the position of the land to question and let him know. By the time everything came on hi stable he was not the revenue minister. That's what he says in the affidavit," added Merchant.

Deshmukh had filed an affidavit before the two-member Adarsh inquiry commission on June 17 claiming that the Adarsh Housing Society land in Mumbai belonged to the Maharashtra government and was never reserved for defence personnel or Kargil war heroes.

"The records maintained with the office of the Collector of Mumbai clearly show that the land belonged to the state government. The ownership of the land was never an issue at any stage so far I am concerned," Deshmukh said in the 15-page affidavit.

He also denied allegations that he had continuously held meetings with Kanaihyalal Gidwani, one of the promoters of the scam-tainted cooperative society.

"I deny that it was on the insistence of Gidwani that the Revenue department was asked to put up the case of allotment of land to Adarsh," Deshmukh said.

"The suggestion that I ordered the allotment of land to Adarsh in an irregular and/or improper manner to favour Gidwani is fully mischievous," he added.

In 2010, the media had brought to public the alleged violations of rules at various phases of construction in the Adarsh Housing Society.

Questions were raised on the manner in which apartments in the building were allocated to bureaucrats, politicians and army personnel who had nothing to do with Kargil War and the way in which clearances were obtained for the construction of the building of the society.

The society high-rise was constructed in Colaba, which is considered a sensitive coastal area by the Indian Defence forces and houses various Indian Defense establishments.

The society is also alleged to have violated the Union Environment Ministry rules. (ANI)