Mumbai:
Not just politicians and senior Army officers, but even top Maharashtra bureaucrats seem to have aided and abetted what is perhaps the biggest case of land grab in the state in recent times.
A close look at the final 104 allotments reveals such cases of conflict of interest. Many of the allottees are related to bureaucrats involved in the clearances granted to the Adarsh Housing Society. (
Read: The allottees of Adarsh Housing Society)
Seema Vyas, the wife of former Mumbai Collector Pradeep Vyas was allotted a flat. Pradeep Vyas was Collector in 2004 when the land was handed over to the Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society.
Omkar Tiwari, the son of former Urban Development Secretary Ramanand Tiwari is also one of the allotees. As Urban Development Secretary, Tiwari would have been privy to all communication on permissions and environmental clearances.
Another bureaucrat in the allottees is P.V Deshmukh, who in 2003, was the Deputy Secretary, Urban Development. He was directly in-charge of getting environmental clearances. His role is now under the scanner, after the Union Environment Ministry recently stated it had not cleared the project. Deshmukh also helped the Adarsh society get more land by reducing the width of the road facing it.
Devyani Khobragade, one of the 104 allottees, is the daughter of Uttam Khobragade, the General Manager of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST). He helped the Adarsh Society secure additional building rights from the adjacent BEST bus depot. This allowed the builders to extend up to 31 floors, from the original 6 floors. The former Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Jairaj Pathak approved the extra building rights. His son, Kanishq, was also allotted a flat in Adarsh.
D.K Shankaran, a former Maharashtra Chief Secretary and his wife, Joyce are also being investigated. Their son, Sanjoy was allotted a flat. Joyce was the Principal Secratary, Revenue during Ashok Chavan's tenure as Revenue minister. Former Mumbai collector I A Kundan, who scrutinised the allotments, also got a flat.
Other allotments being investigated by the CBI include Ranjit Sangitrao, the son of former suburban collector C.S Sangitrao and Arun Pawar, a former Income Tax Commissioner.
NDTV contacted the bureaucrats being investigated. They either refused to comment, or said the flats allotted to their families were cleared by others. It is a story that is becomingly increasingly difficult to buy as day by day more details emerge of just how deep this racket went - and how almost everyone who handled the Adarsh file, was allotted a flat in the society.