I will not quit, says Adarsh-tainted Ramanand Tiwari

Mumbai : Maharashtra Information Commissioner Ramanand Tiwari, who was asked by the state government earlier not to attend office after he was tainted in the Adarsh housing scam, said he would not step down.

He met Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan on Sunday and later told reporters he would not quit.

“I will challenge the appeal for my suspension in by the state government. I have met the Governor and conveyed my side of the story,” Tiwari said.

“I am not going to step down. I have told the Governor about my case,” he said.

“During my tenure in the UDD (Urban Development Department) a lot of files came to me for clearances but I have not given any environmental clearance as my department has nothing to do with the environmental clearance,” he said.

He said the decision to clear land reservation and transfers was taken by the state and not him.

He said his son has got a flat in Adarsh but that does not prove he cleared the flat.

Earlier, state chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had said that for Tiwari to continue in office was not in the interest of the state and the government had submitted enough grounds to take action against Tiwari.

Chavan said the Governor can send the recommendation to the Supreme Court which will hold an inquiry and decide whether to suspend him or terminate his services.

The pro-active Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) on Sunday ordered the demolition of the Adarsh Society building in Mumbai, a tower of controversy over illegal allotments of apartments meant for Kargil heroes’ families, as the building did not have the necessary green clearance.