Ashok Chavan wants ‘time’ on land scam

Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Friday said he needs time to react to the ongoing Adarsh Housing Cooperative Society controversy and his alleged involvement in the land scam.

According to reports, the land in Mumbai’s Colaba area, where the 31-storeyed building stands, was allotted by the Defence Ministry to Kargil War widows and veterans.

But controversy sparked when a letter written by Adarsh Housing Cooperative Society to Chavan surfaced media.

“The letter shows four of 104 allottees are Chavan’s relatives. The society also agreed to allocate 40 per cent of the flats to non-defence personnel,” said CNN-IBN news channel that claims to have a copy of the document.

However, when asked by the media, Chavan said: “Give me some time and then I will talk to you on this issue.”
Meanwhile, the Indian Navy, in a statement, said it has asked the Maharashtra government not to issue a NOC or occupation certificate to Adarsh Society.

“The Navy has written to all the concerned department of the state government not to issue a No Objection Certificate (NOC) or an occupation certificate, temporary or permanent, to the Adarsh Society building,” read an official statement on Friday.

But the Society president said the building has not encroached Defence ministry’s land.

“The fact is that no Defence land has been grabbed, not even an inch has been encroached upon by Adarsh Society. The Defence has nothing to do with the land in question,” said a statement issued by the society’s president, Brig M M Wanchu (Retd).

On Thursday, Defence Minister AK Antony reportedly met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee regarding the land scam.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has already started investigations into the case.