Adarsh Housing Society was built in Mumbai to house veterans and war widows.
Highlights
- Adarsh Housing Society epicenter of scam during Congress government
- 31-storey building meant for war veterans and widows
- Politicians and bureaucrats got under-priced flats instead
The Adarsh Housing Society, an illegal apartment building in Mumbai that became a symbol of political corruption, must be demolished, the Bombay High Court said today.
The court has given 12 weeks for any challenge to its order in the Supreme Court before the building is razed.
Adarsh is a 31-story building in Colaba in south Mumbai whose apartments were intended for war veterans but were grabbed by politicians, defence officers and bureaucrats.
Congress' Ashok Chavan was forced to quit as Chief Minister in 2010 after it was revealed that three of his relatives had also been given apartments in the building.
The court has asked the Centre and Maharashtra to "consider civil and criminal action against ministers, politicians and bureaucrats involved." The case is being investigated by the CBI.Many of the original flat-owners left after the scandal broke.
Adarsh was among the big corruption scandals that severely dented public confidence in the Congress, which lost power both at the Centre and Maharashtra in 2014.
In 2013, a judicial commission found that 25 of the 102 members in the Adarsh society were ineligible and there were 22 cases of flats being bought on proxies.
The inquiry report also said Mr Chavan and other bureaucrats gave permissions and clearances to the builders as a quid pro quo. Then governor K Sankaranarayan didn't sanction the prosecution of Mr Chavan on grounds of insufficient evidence.