Agencies/New Delhi

 

 

The Adarsh complex in Colaba was built to house veterans and widows of the 1999 Kargil war, but a probe found politicians, ministers and bureaucrats had been granted apartments cheaply

India’s environment ministry yesterday ordered the demolition of an illegal Mumbai apartment block that has become a symbol of political corruption, as the country’s government tries to tackle mounting graft allegations.

The demolition order is the first direct step by the government towards addressing a series of corruption charges.

The Adarsh Housing Society scam is one of four major scandals that have damaged public confidence in the Congress Party, alongside a $39bn telecoms scandal, a cash-for-loans scam and charges of corruption in the running of October’s Commonwealth Games.

The Adarsh complex in Backbay Reclamation Area in Mumbai’s upscale Colaba was built to house veterans and widows of the 1999 Kargil war, but a probe found politicians, ministers and bureaucrats had been granted apartments cheaply, leading to the sacking of Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan, a Congress Party member.

The ruling Congress continues to reject opposition calls for a parliamentary inquiry into the telecoms scam, and the Central Bureau of Investigation has failed to pin graft charges on senior officials in the Commonwealth Games executive.

“Out of three options the ministry has decided to remove entire structure,” an environment ministry statement said.

“It is unauthorised and no clearance whatsoever under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 1991 was obtained.”

“Any other decision would have diluted the strong precedents that have been set in judgments of the Supreme Court,” the statement quoted Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh as saying.

Under the CRZ, permission has to be sought for any construction in coastal areas. The ministry concluded that Adarsh society had not obtained the necessary clearance.

“It is immaterial whether the Adarsh Society was aware of the requirement to seek clearance under Coastal Regulation Zone rules. Ignorance of law can never be an excuse for non-compliance,” Ramesh said.

The environment ministry had in November last year served a notice to the society asking it why the illegal floors in the building should not be demolished.

Adarsh Society’s lawyer Satish Maneshinde said the environment ministry’s decision had been made in a hurry and that they would move the court against it.

“The tenor of the order is completely malafide and we challenge the demolition order,” Maneshinde said.

“To pass an order on a Sunday like this without even any legal precedence, I totally feel it is a malafide order and we challenge it as and when we get the copy of the order,” he said.

Asked about the legal options, Maneshinde said: “The first option is to approach the high court and the society will decide the next course of action. I will advise them after seeing the copy of the order. It is premature to tell what we are going to do.”

State opposition leaders and activists in Mumbai welcomed the demolition order.

Madhav Bhandari, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson, said there were several other buildings that have flouted CRZ norms.

Shiv Sena legislator Subhash Desai, while welcoming the decision, voiced concern over whether “the order will really be followed.”

Activist Medha Patkar, whose NGO is among the petitioners against the Adarsh construction, said along with the demolition, land allotment rules also need to be amended to make them more powerful.

Maharashtra Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) A N Tiwari, who headed the state’s urban development department (UDD) during the Adarsh allocation period and is under suspension for the scam, yesterday said the file did come to him.

“I did clear a lot of files during my tenure at the UDD, but the decision to clear the land reservations and land transfers were taken by the state government and not by me,” he told reporters.

Tiwari’s son owns a flat in the building.

Chavan was forced to resign as chief minister in November after it emerged that three of his relatives had been given apartments in the 31-storey building.

Opposition protests about the corruption allegations have paralysed parliament since November, delaying crucial economic reforms and undermining public support for Manmohan Singh’s ruling coalition, which is also under pressure for failing to control rapid inflation and price rises.

A recent poll showed voter discontent with the ruling Congress Party would result in a loss of 40 seats at a general election, which would threaten its majority and damage its ability to form a working coalition government.