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Maharashtra cabinet recommends Ramanand Tiwari's suspension over Adarsh scam

The state information commissioner should not attend office till the inquiry into the scam concludes, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan told reporters after a meeting of the state cabinet chaired by him.

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Information commissioner Ramanand Tiwari’s defiance has cost him dear.

The state cabinet, miffed by his refusal to step down over allegations of impropriety in the Adarsh housing society scam, on Tuesday advised governor K Sankaranarayanan to initiate action against him on disciplinary grounds.

It also requested the governor to suspend the officer immediately and bar him from attending office pending an inquiry.

Terming his appointment to the post after retirement as ‘political consideration’, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said that his government expects immediate action against Tiwari. The governor has been requested to invoke his powers under the Right to Information (RTI) Act to suspend the officer pending the procedure of referring the case to the supreme court for action.

“IAS officers are protected by law but Tiwari and Subhash Lalla were appointed for political reasons. So, there is a specific procedure to take action against them,” Chavan said, and added, “In a letter written to the governor, we have given adequate grounds for Tiwari’s suspension. The government does not feel it is appropriate for the officer to continue in office in the interest of the state.”

The cabinet is so assertive about the action against Tiwari that it has decided not to even wait for minutes of the cabinet meeting to be approved. The governor’s decision is expected to come by the end of this week.

“After the reference made by the government, the suspension, under 17(2) of the RTI Act, can be initiated pending inquiry in the supreme court,” an official said. He, however, added that the suspension orders be initiated only after ensuring that the reference has reached the apex court.

Tiwari and human rights commission member Lalla were asked by the government to put in their papers a few days ago for their alleged involvement in the Adarsh scam. Lalla submitted his resignation in a couple of days after the ultimatum, but Tiwari refused. He has been pleading his innocence and has claimed that he is ready for a probe by an independent agency.

Tiwari was the principal secretary of urban development department when permissions were given to Adarsh society. He is accused of irregularities and impropriety while giving permissions to the society. He also allegedly facilitated the membership of his son Omkar in the society.

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