Evidence against Chavan building up: CBI sources

Mumbai: There is trouble brewing for former Maharashtra chief minister, Ashok Chavan, as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sources tell NDTV that he used his influence to get flats for his kin the Adarsh housing society.

The CBI sources say, that promoters of Adarsh society, Kanhaiyalal Gidwani and RC Thakur, have named Chavan in their statement to the CBI. They said that concessions were granted to the building around the time Chavan's kin got membership of the society.

According to sources, the CBI in its investigation has found that the 15% recreational ground area or Floor Space Index (FSI) that was granted to Adarsh was done so that membership could be allotted to Ashok Chavan's kin.

According to sources, there were several meetings between Adarsh society members and Ashok Chavan.

Chavan though has maintained a studied silence and has refused to comment on the matter.

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Earlier, the CBI named him as an accused in their FIR. It says as the then Revenue Minister, Chavan was among those responsible for the inclusion of civilians in the society. It also says he was instrumental in changing the development plan of the area. Three of his relatives were also allotted flats in the housing society.

The building was originally meant to be a six-storey structure to house Kargil War heroes and their kin but was later extended to 31 floors without mandatory permission.

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Last year, ahead of the winter session of Parliament Congress president Sonia Gandhi accepted Chavan's resignation.

The names of several leading politicians, ex-defence chiefs and top bureaucrats have emerged in the scandal.

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Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh had issued a show-cause notice to the controversial society for "blatant" violation of green norms. The minister suggested that some of the floors of the 31-storey building in upscale Colaba area of Mumbai be demolished as has been done in similar cases in the past.

The Environment Ministry made it clear that it never issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) on March 11, 2003, to the Society for construction of the residential building.

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The naked collusion between Army officers with politicians and bureaucrats loomed 31 storeys high when the Adarsh Society scam was discovered. It suggested a new low in corruption - flats meant for war widows and defence veterans had been cornered at prices unheard of for Mumbai's pricey Colaba area.