New Delhi, November 3
An in-house probe by the Ministry of Defence has found that Army officials stationed at Mumbai had kept the Army headquarters in the dark about the shady dealings of the Adarsh Housing Society. This even as Army officials in Mumbai “lost possession” of prime land in Colaba and issued a no objection certificate (NoC) to the society.

Sources in the Ministry of Defence indicated that “punitive” action would be announced by Monday. It will not just be action against the society or the officials who colluded in the scam, the ministry is looking to come out with a comprehensive system by which such attempts to usurp defence land can be prevented in the future.

Normally, the Mumbai-based Maharastra, Gujarat and Goa ( MG&G) area commander, a Major-General rank official, is expected to inform the Army headquarters in Delhi when such issues are being dealt with. In this case there was no information, said sources.

Notably, four of the previous Major-Generals, posted as GoCs of the MG&G area, have been allotted flats in the society that is located in South Mumbai and flats command a premium in the range of Rs 10 crore. Two of the retired Army chiefs who served during that period also have flats and several officials of the Defence Estates Department, a civilian agency, were also obliged. The Defence estates is responsible for maintaining the 7,000 sq km of real estate owned by the ministry at various locations spread across the country.

The Army in its report submitted last week to the Defence Ministry wanted the ministry to get to the bottom of the issue of how the land was alienated by officers posted in Mumbai in 1999. The BJP-led NDA was the ruling party at the Centre and the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance was the ruling combine in Maharashtra. The Army had in its report admitted that its officers in Mumbai had issued an NoC to the society to construct the housing complex in 1999.

The Army was in “de facto” possession of the 6,490-sq m plot of land and had used it as a training and transit location for its troops in the western metropolis. The land possession dates back to pre-Independence India and there were no questions on that.

Meanwhile, the Indian Navy submitted its report on the Adarsh Society today. The Navy, sources said, had raised serious security concerns over the 31-storey and 100-metre tall building in a military zone. It provides for clear visibility to several sensitive installations, including a naval base nearby and good view of the Trombay-based Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. The Navy has said the building had come up with the security perimeter of its installations and it could be of high risk from it.

Already, the ministry is thinking of action against its personnel and society promoters. This will include a CBI probe to uncover the “criminal conspiracy” and the income tax department to uncover the money trail. The ministry can also take over the building However, sources said the ministry had not yet approached the CBI to probe the case.

New Delhi: The Navy on Wednesday said it had submitted its report on the Adarsh Housing Society scam to the Defence Ministry.

The report along with the recommendations of the Navy for the future course of action has been sent to the Defence Ministry, Navy sources said here.

After ordering a probe into the issue, the Defence Ministry had sought reports on the controversy and its past background from the Army, Navy and the Defence Estates. A controversy has erupted over how the Adarsh Society in upscale Colaba, originally meant to be a six-storey structure for the Kargil war heroes and their widows, was converted into a 31-storey building.

The high-rise is built on 6,450 sq metres within the Colaba naval area and was cleared on the condition of housing war veterans but now has 104 members, including former service chiefs, senior serving Army officials, a former Environment Minister, legislators and state bureaucrats. — PTI

Mumbai, November 3
Most of the 104 residents of the controversial Adarsh Co-operative Housing Society have moved out after electricity and water supply to the building was cut off on Tuesday, security personnel employed by the society confirmed.

While some of the lifts in the building were being powered by a generator, a few residents still in the premises were using power back-ups, according to the security personnel. Many residents have kept servants in the houses while they themselves moved to alternative accommodation.

On Tuesday, the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) cut off power supply to the building while the Mumbai municipality cut off the water supply. Earlier in the day, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority revoked the Occupation Certificate granted to the society on the grounds that permission was not granted according to norms.

Meanwhile, the Western Naval Command here has reiterated that the Adarsh Co-operative Housing Society posed a threat to naval security. The building overlooks sensitive naval installations like a fuel depot and a facility to store armaments. The Navy had earlier opposed the project, but successive governments kept allowing the promoters to increase the height from a six-storeyed building to 31 floors.