The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Adarsh Scam
CAG names Army top brass among beneficiaries
Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service

in the wrong hands
n Two Chiefs of Army Staff - General NC Vij, General Deepak Kapoor
n All officers except one, who held charge as General Officer Commanding, MG&G area, from Feb 1998 to July 2010
n Officers holding the post of General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), Southern Command, Pune, from Oct 2000 to Sep 2001 and from Oct 2001 to Feb 2004 were members of the Housing Society

New Delhi, August 9
Facts collated by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on the controversial Adarsh Housing Society in Colaba, south Mumbai, point at a shocking collusion between senior Army officers and civil authorities, who bent rules in the name of ex-servicemen and serving officers, besides using the guise of a noble cause of ‘rehabilitating Kargil widows.’

The CAG in its report tabled in both Houses of Parliament today exposed how a few senior Army officers, civilian bureaucracy in Maharashtra and a few corrupt employees of the Defence Estates Department of the Ministry of Defence used the system to get the 3,824 sq m of public land allotted only to use it for their private good.

Notable among the beneficiary service officers were two former Chiefs of Army Staff - General NC Vij and General Deepak Kapoor. Gen Kapoor become a member when he was a serving chief.

“They were allowed as ‘one-time special case’ keeping in view their noteworthy service in the Indian Army and their social status,” CAG said. “In the name of welfare, it was the select elite belonging to the services and civilian administration, politicians and individuals connected with them who benefited from the misappropriation,” the report said.

Terming it as “dereliction of duty and severe lack of probity and accountability which needs very serious investigation,” the CAG observed “not taking exemplary remedial and punitive action...will erode the credibility of the government and encourage similar attempts in the future”.

The report in an unusual advice calls on Parliament and the government to ensure that “public trust is not betrayed.”

“From the very beginning, the welfare of servicemen and ex-servicemen in one form or the other was used as a ruse to grab this piece of public land,” the CAG said in its severe indictment. At different points of time, relaxations were sought from the Maharashtra Government under the following claims: “Girls’ hostel for wards of Army officers posted in far-flung areas”, “welfare of Kargil war heroes”, “welfare of widows of servicemen”, “welfare of soldiers who have served their motherland”.

The auditor said that from the records of the Government of Maharashtra and the Defence Estates Office, it has been “conclusively proved” that the land was in the possession of the Army, a fact that officials of the Government of Maharashtra, HQ Maharashtra Gujarat and Goa (MG&G) area, and the Defence Estates Office should have been aware of, but probably chose to ignore.

The February 2000 letter to the Maharashtra Chief Minister given by the chief promoter of the Society Ramchandra Sonelal Thakur, a official in the Defence Estates Office (DEO), clearly indicates that the land was in the possession of the Army. The title of the land was never, however, transferred to the Ministry of Defence.

The hurried ‘no-objection’ by the Army and the Defence Estates Office in April 2000 - within two months of the application by Thakur - assumes significance.

The auditor pointed out a serious lapse that could lead to a re-think among the military top brass. It said: “All officers except one, who held charge as General Officer Commanding, MG&G area, from February 1998 to July 2010, became beneficiaries”.

It further said that officers holding the post of General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), Southern Command, Pune, from October 2000 to September 2001 and from October 2001 to February 2004 also became members of the Housing Society.”

Team Anna in Mumbai to mobilise support
Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service

Mumbai, August 9
Anna Hazare and his followers kicked off a major mobilisation exercise in Mumbai ahead of his indefinite fast in New Delhi from Independence Day to bring about the Jan Lokpal Bill.

Nearly 2,000 people mobilised by the India Against Corruption, an umbrella network of several non-government organisations, began a car and bike rally from the Swami Narayan Temple at Dadar in South Mumbai to Azad Maidan in downtown Mumbai.

“This is the second Independence movement,” said Mayank Gandhi, who is co-ordinating Team Anna's mobilisation efforts in the city. According to Gandhi, volunteers from the IAC have fanned out to colleges across the city to get the support of students. “Mumbai dabbawalas have also pledged support and will go on a sympathetic fast on August 16,” Gandhi said.

“Our volunteers will stand at every railway station on August 16 and appeal to the people not to go to work. It won't be a Mumbai bandh, but we want people to come out on the streets and demand for a Jan Lokpal Bill,” Arvind Kejriwal, an associate of Hazare said.

CWG mess
BJP targets PM, Sheila; Parliament disrupted
Faraz Ahmad and Girija Shankar Kaura
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 9
Both the Houses of Parliament were adjourned here today without concluding the debate on Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Ajay Maken's statement, amidst repeated clashes between Congress and BJP benches over BJP leaders targeting Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the appointment of Suresh Kalmadi in the Rajya Sabha and insinuations in the Lok Sabha of Ajay Maken acting as conduit for bribing of Congress leaders in Delhi by former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda.

BJP speakers in both Houses of Parliament also trained their guns on the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram accusing him, by citing the letter of former Sports Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar of sanctioning funds to Kalmadi despite Aiyar's objections.

Targeting the Prime Minister and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said, "Responsibility lies, both with the Central and state governments,…none of them should be spared…. If heads are to roll heads of the state government and the Centre must also roll."

Demanding that all documents and files pertaining to the CWG be brought before the House, Jaitley said the government was trying to conceal more than what had been revealed.

In the Lok Sabha, Yashwant Sinha alleged that Koda bribed Congress leaders in Delhi while Maken was the state in charge. Koda and Maken immediately rose to demand an apology. But Sinha refused, leading to a half an hour adjournment.

Sinha reminded the Congress, "Who gave Kalmadi the ticket, which party does Kalmadi belong to? There is no strength in the minister's statement. They say the NDA appointed Kalmadi. Even if that is accepted for argument sake, I say why did you not remove him. Your successive ministers had been writing to the Prime Minister and pleading with him to remove Kalmadi. I ask who gave Kalmadi the ticket to contest the 2009 elections?"

In the Lok Sabha, the debate was initiated by CPM leader Basudeb Acharia who virtually skipped over Maken's statement and the controversy around Kalmadi's appointment, instead quoting extensively from the CAG report, he trained guns on Sheila Dikshit.

Acharia's quoting of the CAG report enabled next Congress speaker Manish Tiwari to target the CAG itself.

Quoting the Constitution, Tiwari also questioned the CAG propriety in questioning government policies and appointments. He recalled how Sheila Dikshit was forced to give a certain contract to the SpaceAge after rejecting it, mentioned in the CAG, because the Delhi High Court Bench of Manmohan Sarin (currently Delhi's Lokayukta) had overruled her decision.

The day ended with Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj protesting against the alleged lathicharge on BYJM demonstration at Ramlila Grounds. With the BJP men rushing to the Well of the Lok Sabha, it was adjourned for the day within minutes. The same situation prevailed in the Rajya Sabha as well.

Bid to gherao Parliament
Yuva Morcha activists lathicharged, 38 hurt
Tribune News Service

Protest turns violent: Delhi police personnel rain lathis on a BJP youth activist during a protest against corruption in New Delhi on Tuesday. Thirtyeight activists sustained injuries in the incident. Tribune photo: Mukesh Aggarwal

New Delhi, August 9
Thirty-eight BJYM activists, including Rahul Kothari, national secretary of the Bharatiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM), sustained injuries when the police resorted to lathi charge and lobbed teargas shells to disperse them when they tried to jump the barricade erected at Jantar Mantar to gherao Parliament.

Later, the police detained some of them, including Anurag Thakur, president of the BJYM, who was leading the rally and Parliament gherao protest. He was in the police custody for three hours. BJYM spokesperson Anurag Mishra sustained injuries in leg and chest.

The police took the action when BJYM activists gathered at Jantar Mantar in thousands and tried to jump the barricade erected to prevent them going towards Parliament.

They marched to gherao Parliament from Ramlila Ground where they had a rally against corruption, inflation and unemployment. Senior leaders of the BJP, including its national president Nitin Gadkari, L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Sushma Swaraj, had addressed the rally.

Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Dharmender Kumar said when the activists became violent and started pelting stones on security personnel, which resulted in injuries to 23 personnel, the police lobbed 15 teargas shells and used water cannon.

IIT Entrance
Govt mulls 3 chances for aspirants

New Delhi, August 9
HRD Minister Kapil Sibal today said the government would consider giving students three attempts to clear the IIT entrance exam against the two chances being given to them currently.

Sibal also batted for an education system where teacher is no longer the repository of knowledge.

“We will connect all the 31,000 colleges through broadband internet,” he added.

Participating in the Guru-Shishya award function, he said, “Pursuit of knowledge is the true guru for every student.” — PTI

Security concerns put oil exploration on hold
Missile launch facility, oil rigs vie for space in KG basin
Ajay Banerjee/TNS

New Delhi, August 9
It is a toss-up between India’s security and its growing economy, especially its thirst for oil and gas to power its growth trajectory.

Due to objections by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the extraction of oil and gas in several blocks of the prolific Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin in Andhra Pradesh has been put on hold. The MoD has objected to this as the upcoming oil and gas extraction rigs would “interfere with the proposed long-range missile launching facility in Andhra Pradesh,” Defence Minister AK Antony told the Lok Sabha in a written reply today.

With the government of Andhra Pradesh not offering an alternative place for the missile test range, the oil and gas exploration has been put on hold. Early this year, bids were closed for some 33 exploration blocks under the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP).

Some 74 bids had been received and it was expected that the contracts would be signed within three months. The Petroleum Ministry estimates that the KG basin blocks, spread across a 50,000 sq km area, have up to 1,130 million metric tonnes of oil and oil-equivalent gas, or approximately 60 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Among the major bidders are the ONGC, GAIL, Oil India, Reliance and Cairn Energy.

Today, Defence Minister AK Antony in a reply to MPs Ponnam Prabhakar and L Raja Gopal said the “the matter was being discussed with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.”

Sources indicated that the deadlock may only be resolved with the intervention of the Prime Minister or the high-powered Cabinet Committee on Security. A pragmatic solution is needed as the country imports some 70 per cent of its fuel. The missile range can be shifted southwards, but the oil-gas blocks cannot be shifted, said a source. Indian has a missile testing range at Chandipur-on-sea off the coast of Orissa.

Sources said the MoD’s objections stem from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) plans to set up a missile range for its successful missile-programme at Machilipatnam that is at the southern end of the oil-gas rich KG Basin.

Candidates have right to inspect answersheets: SC

New Delhi, August 9
The examinees have a right to inspect answersheets under the transparency law, the Supreme Court ruled today.

The evaluated answersheets are covered under the definition of the “information” under the Right to Information Act, a Bench comprising Justices RV Raveendran and AK Patnaik said.

It upheld the judgment of the Calcutta High Court, which had said “rejection for inspection of answersheets cannot be sustained”.

The apex court dismissed the appeals of the CBSE, West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, West Bengal Council for Higher Education, University of Calcutta, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and the West Bengal Central School Service Commission, which had challenged the February 5, 2009, judgment.

The apex court agreed with the findings of the high court that the examination-conducting bodies do not retain the evaluated answersheets under any “fiduciary capacity”.

The Assam Public Service Commission and the Bihar Public Service Commission had also joined in and opposed the disclosure of answersheets to examinees.

The apex court rejected the contention that disclosure of answersheets and allowing the inspection would lead to the collapse of the entire system.

It agreed with the findings of the division bench of the high court which had said “we have little hesitation in holding that an assessed/evaluated answer script of an examinee writing a public examination conducted by public bodies like the WBBSE, CBSE or universities, which are created by statutes, does come within the purview of “information as defined in the RTI Act”.

The high court had also held that there was no merit in the submission that giving the examinees access to their answer scripts would not serve any public interest.

“Disclosure of assessed/evaluated answer scripts would definitely be conducive to improvement of quality of assessment. Examiners appointed by the WBBSE or the university are not their employees. They are beyond the disciplinary control of the public authorities,” it added. — PTI

2G: SC notice to CBI on bail pleas of Unitech, Swan chiefs
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, August 9
The Supreme Court today sought CBI response to the bail pleas of Unitech Wireless Managing Director Sanjay Chandra and Swan Telecom Director Vinod Goenka within two weeks.

In their bail petitions, the two top executives have alleged that the CBI was adopting a discriminatory and arbitrary approach towards them. The two are lodged in Tihar jail here. They also pleaded that the CBI had already investigated them and as such no longer required them.

According to Sanjay, he had no role in the scam which involved deciding the cut-off date and first-come-first-served policy for spectrum allocation. Both the decisions were taken by A Raja.

CWG SCAM
Eight CPWD officials booked

New Delhi, August 9
The CBI today registered a case against eight CPWD officials and two city-based private firms for criminal conspiracy and misconduct under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

According to the CBI, the accused in conspiracy with the private parties artificially jacked up the reasonable price so as to justify the award of work to the said firms.

The case has been registered against the then project manager (CWG), SS Mondal, superintendent engineer Rajendra Kalla, executive engineer Manu Mittal, assistant engineer-I AK Arora, assistant engineer-II Manish Kumar Rawat, junior engineer Sanjeev Kumar, EE(P) Pradeep Gupta and assistant engineer Som Dutt. — TNS

Four ultras gunned down in Meghalaya
Bijay Sankar Bora
Tribune News Service

Guwahati, August 9
Four militants were killed during a gun battle between a group of ultras belonging to the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) and Meghalaya police commandos in the wee hours today inside a forest about 6 km away from Williamnagar, the headquarters of the East Garo Hills district of Meghalaya.

Superintendent of Police JFK Marak informed over the phone from Williamnagar that acting on a tip-off, a team of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Commandos of the Meghalaya police launched an operation to bust a make-shift camp of the GNLA ultras in Bolkinggre forest near Williamnagar at around 1.30 am.

In the ensuing gun battle, four militants were killed while two rebels managed to flee. A police officer was also injured in the hour-long gun battle. One of the slain militants was identified as Roster Marak, the self-styled ‘deputy commander-in-chief’ of the GNLA.

Roster was one of the five deserters of the Meghalaya police, who later joined the ranks of the GNLA that was floated by a deserter Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Champion R Sangma to ‘liberate’ the Garoland areas of Meghalaya.

The police seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition from the busted camp of insurgents. The recovery included two foreign-made assault rifles of different makes, a Chinese pistol, one grenade launcher, Chinese grenades, magazines and about 300 rounds of live ammunition of different calibres, two cell phones with several SIM cards and incriminating documents.

Police officials claim that the GNLA outfit had over 100 armed cadres operating in the Garo Hills areas of Meghalaya. The outfit has been creating trouble in Garo hills districts of Meghalaya through rampant extortions and occasional attacks on the police.

Gujarat Cong’s posers to Modi

Ahmedabad, August 9
The Gujarat Congress yesterday posed 27 questions related to state issues to Chief Minister Narendra Modi and demanded their answers.

The queries related to law and order situation in the BJP-ruled state, giving farmland to industries and commercialisation of education etc.

“We want answers from the Gujarat Chief Minister on 27 questions put to him by us,” senior Congress leader Narhari Amin told reporters here.

“Modi has come to power by telling people that he would remove fear, hunger and corruption. People today want to know from the Chief Minister what has he done on law and order front, giving farmland to industries and other important issues,” he said.

He said Modi should break silence over the arrest of his aide and former Home Minister Amit Shah on the charges of murder and extortion. — PTI