Ashok Chavan was forced to quit in November 2010 after it emerged that three of his relatives had been given apartments in the 31-storey building.
Highlights
- Ashok Chavan will be prosecuted for his alleged key role in Adarsh Scam
- Chavan quit as Maharashtra Chief Minister when the scandal broke in 2010
- Flats for war veterans were given to ministers, bureaucrats at a bargain
Ashok Chavan, a top Congress leader in Maharashtra and former Chief Minister, will be prosecuted for allegedly playing a central role in the Adarsh scam, which forced him to resign as head of the state government in 2010.
In its defence of Mr Chavan, the Congress in the state may have made a bad thing a whole lot worse. Describing him as one of its "tallest leaders", the party described the Adarsh swindle as "a myth".It stands isolated in that assessment. A former judge who investigated the matter has concluded that Mr Chavan was among a group of power players who gave illegal sanction to the 31-storey Adarsh apartment building in exchange for cheap flats for their relatives.
Three flats were allocated to members of Mr Chavan's family when he was Chief Minister. The Adarsh Housing Society, located in Colaba, one of the most expensive areas of Mumbai, was on paper meant to house war veterans and widows -a category error according to the judge who studied the property because the land belonged to the government and not the army.
Governor Vidyasagar Rao has
informed the CBI today that it can launch proceedings against Mr Chavan, currently the president of the Congress party in Maharashtra. The Governor's sanction comes three years after his predecessor had refused the request. At the time, the Congress was governing Maharashtra, and the move was seen as a blatant attempt to protect Mr Chavan by a governor appointed by his party.
The Adarsh building became one of the symbols of deep corruption associated with the Congress-led national coalition government of UPA 2. Months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi swept to power in 2014, Maharashtra chose his party, the BJP, to replace the Congress in the state election as well.
"This is not a case of vendetta, it's the law following its own course," said Sambit Patra of the BJP, which governs Maharshtra in partnership with the Shiv Sena.