Irregularities in Adarsh housing society scam pinpointed, says AK Antony

Union defence minister AK Antony on Monday said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha that prima facie it has been established that irregularities have been committed by Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society (ACHS).

The controversy surrounding this society has already claimed the scalp of Ashok Chavan, who had had to step down as chief minister.

The defence ministry had entrusted the Central Bureau of Investigation to conduct an enquiry so that the wrongdoings can be ascertained and the responsibilities fixed.

In the reply, Antony said that some of the irregularities were issuance of a no-objection certificate (NOC) to alienate the land in favour of the ACHS, by-passing coastal regulation zone clearance, inclusion of civilians as members of the society, change of floor-space-index, deviation from commitments made for welfare of defence services and disregard for the security concerns of the defence services.

Antony said that the society had sought the allotment of land from the state government  for the welfare of serving and retired personnel of the defence services, but constructed a multi-storied building instead.