Mumbai:
Days after NDTV reported how bureaucrats own flats in Mumbai's controversial Harsiddhi Heights, now comes another revelation. NDTV has found that Mumbai's Joint Commissioner of police Himanshu Roy's mother, Sarladevi, owns a flat in Harsiddhi Heights in the prime Worli area.
The 18-storey building is under the scanner. The Navy claims it has been constructed dangerously close to INS Trata Missile Base despite its objection and a stop-work notice issued by the government.
When contacted by NDTV, Roy said, "My mother Sarladevi bought a flat four to five years ago. She has taken a bank loan and is a tax-paying citizen. I have never dealt with the Harsiddhi Heights file. I had also informed the government regarding the purchase as per service rules.''
The question is how come so many bureaucrats, police officers or their relatives own flats in a building the Navy has been claiming since 2005 to be a threat to national security?
Flat owners in Harsiddhi Heights - Ajay Nair: Son-in-law of former Maharashtra Chief Secretary RM Premkumar
- Rachita Ratho: Wife of State Energy Secretary Subrat Ratho
- Satish Bhide: Former Joint Municipal Commissioner
- Nikhil Gehrotra: Relative of former Finance Secretary O. P. Gehrotra
- YP Singh: Former IPS officer, now lawyer; helped expose Adarsh Scam
They have denied any role in granting the building clearances and insist the Navy's No-Objection Certificate was not required.
But in the shadow of the Adarsh scam, the matter will not be taken lightly.
"Regarding Harsiddhi Heights, we are inquiring. If there are any environmental violations, then action will be taken," said Prithviraj Chavan, Chief Minister, Maharashtra.
The government is also looking whether the building on the sea face has violated coastal regulation norms.
It's the lack of this crucial clearance that finally led to the demolition order on Adarsh.