Adarsh Housing Society scam is a minefield of unanswered tricky questions

A week into the Adarsh Housing Society scam that threatens to unseat Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan, there are a number of unanswered questions that beg for an answer.

The first and one of the basic questions is whether the housing society was meant exclusively for Kargil heroes and war widows? The answer could differ depending on who you’re speaking to. When the first proposal came up, it was meant to provide housing for war widows and defence personnel. However, only three Kargil War heroes could make it to the list of the members of the society.

But according to the society’s promoters messrs R. C. Thakur and Congress MLC Kanhaiyalal Gidwani, it was not meant exclusively for defence personnel.A rattled state government is keeping mum especially since the CM and most top bureaucrats have a flat in the building. But we have learnt that the proposal for building a housing project for Kargil heroes and war widows was added by Messrs R. C. Thakur and Co only after their earlier two applications was rejected.

The second question that follows is if it was for war widows then how did so many civilians and bureaucrats managed to become members? The original proposal and the list of members have undergone many changes since the first time it was mooted. This was especially as the housing project was formed violating several norms. So whenever a bureaucrat took objection, his name was promptly added to the members list.

Politicians came on to the stage later when the proposal continued to get stuck. It was then that Chavan and other politicians had their relatives’ names inserted helping the proposal move faster. However, there was still the matter of the defence establishment laying claim over the land. So top officers were approached who allegedly agreed to be members.

The third question is whether the plot was a defence land or did it belong to the state government? The defence authorities claim the land was under their possession and hence belonged to them. The state government has not disputed this claim but said the land belonged to the revenue department hence the state government gave the sanction.

This brings us to the third question that if it was revenue land why should the defence authorities object at all? Sources said when the land for the housing project was taken over nobody raised any credible objection because top officers of the army’s western command were members of the society.

Finally, what is R. C. Thakur’s locus standi in the whole issue? He is the man credited for conceiving the housing project.Thakur was a Defence Estate staff who knew well which land belonged to the army and which to the state government.

The plot was chosen simply because the ownership was not clear. While Thakur ensured that the defencemen did not object, Congress MLC Kanhaiyalal Gidwani who was then in the Shiv Sena brought top bureaucrats and their kin on board.

The defence audit officials have also raised questions about why the land that the army claimed ownership to was transferred to the society? The auditors also want to know why no attempt was made to stop the high- rise construction when it was clear that it was close to a defence installation and posed a threat.