Transplantation of full-grown trees to golf club was carried out following the order of the then western naval chief.
Documents procured under the RTI by Mumbai Citizens Group, an NGO, have revealed that the defence headquarters (Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa) was kept in the dark about the transplantation of fully grown trees from the Adarsh plot to United Services (US) Club’s golf course. Alarmed that no permission was taken from the defence estates office, it learnt from the club that transplantation was done at the behest of the headquarters, western naval command.
HQ (MG&G) controls the entire area in the three states on behalf of the army. Western naval command looks after the affairs of the navy in the western fleet and is headed by the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, who is also patron of the club. Vice Admiral Madanjit Singh was the then FOCinC and also a member of Adarsh. Colonel TK Sinha (also a member of Adarsh), who initiated the exercise to transplant the trees on behalf of the club, signed as a witness on Singh’s application for membership in Adarsh.
On October 31, 2005, a letter was sent to the club on behalf of the HQ Mumbai sub area (also called local military authority), which sought to know “the circumstances under which transplantation of the trees was permitted on defence land without permission of the estate officer”. It stated that on October 14, 2005, “three dozen trees were planted in the premises of the Army-Navy Environment Park [golf course] in the portion of land belonging to the army.”
The letter said if the “transplantation is not supported by requisite permission from the appropriate government authority, it could lead to the local military authority being embarrassed and drawn into possible litigation”.
US Club secretary Commodore (retd) Rajiv Dhamdhere replied on November 21, 2005 that the “transplantation … was undertaken on the directives of the headquarters, western naval command”.
The HQ (MG&G) also wrote to Adarsh on November 2, 2005, stating that permission given by anyone other than the existing estate officer is unlawful. On November 24, 2005, Adarsh replied that it had complied with all statutory obligations, including approvals from the BMC, the MMRDA, and the headquarters of western naval command.
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