"I stand vindicated," said social activist Pravin Wategaonkar, who had filed the public interest litigation seeking action against former chief minister Sushikumar Shinde and ex-revenue minister Shivajirao Patil-Nilangekar, who had allotted defence land for the construction of Adarsh society in Colaba.
The Bombay High Court on Friday ordered the demolition of the building.
Wategaonkar has been fighting this case since May 2011. "It was a long relentless fight against corrupt politicians. They had made the coastal zone regulation (CRZ) II. The court had said the building should not have been permitted in the first place. Now it is there, it should be demolished," he said.
He added that there are 13 accused, including Shinde, Patil-Nilangekar, then CM Ashok Chavan, former BMC chief Jairaj Phatak, RC Thakur and late Kanaiyalal Kidwani. "The next logical step is to take action against Shinde and Patil-Nilangekar," Wategaonkar said.
When asked that rather than demolishing it, shouldn't the government use it for any other purpose or allot space Kargil war widows, he said that for that the Centre will have to make a special provision and pass the law.
"Personally, I feel that the Adarsh building, which is synonymous with corruption and blatant violations, and is a symbol of abuse of power, should torn down. The government has demolished homes of many poor people on the ground that they were illegally constructed, so the same law should be applied here."
He added that this is the right opportunity to show that rule of law prevails in India. "My fight will continue till all the accused are punished," Wategaonkar said.
Meanwhile, the Congress said it has nothing to worry about. When contacted, Chavan refused to speak, but Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Sachin Sawant said he (Chavan) had already surrendered the flats and now only BJP leaders had flats in the building, hence, the ruling party should worry more than them.
BJP leaders said they welcome the HC verdict.
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