Army told to reply Adarsh plea seeking restoration of power and water supply

The Bombay High Court on Thursday gave one week's time to the Indian Army to respond to an application filed by the Adarsh society, seeking restoration of electricity and water supply for "maintenance of the building".

A division bench of justices PV Hardas and Anuja Prabhudessai has also asked the controversial Colaba society to file an additional affidavit, in case it wishes to contend anything in the Army's reply, within a week thereafter. The HC has kept the application for hearing on September 25.

The society's electricity and water supply were disconnected after its Occupation Certificate was revoked in 2010.

The Army had filed a petition seeking demolition of the Adarsh building on security grounds. The Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) had also, on January 14, 2011, ordered for demolition of the building for violation of coastal regulatory zone norms. The petition is being heard in the court.

Adarsh society has sought restoration of power and water supply on the grounds that its members are being inconvenienced and there is a need to maintain plant and machinery such as lifts and fire-fighting equipment. It claims to have spent nearly Rs2.5 crore on elevators.

"The lifts require regular maintenance and repairs even in the regular supply of electricity to the building of the Applicant. I state that the lifts have not been operating for almost 4 years and have also not undergone the regular maintenance, thereby deteriorating the condition of the lifts day by day," reads the Adarsh petition.

While the Ministry of Defence has filed a suit in the HC, claiming ownership of the land on which Adarsh is constructed, the Army wants it to be pulled down. The Army says the location and height provides a direct view into the Colaba Military Station. The Army also says that anyone with handheld small arms can directly interfere with military activities.

Adarsh scam
Meant for the welfare of war widows and defence personnel, slew of rules were flouted during the construction of Adarsh, a 31-storey building in Colaba. The Central Bureau of Investigation is currently probing many members of Adarsh, ministers, including former chief minister Ashok Chavan, and bureaucrats for granting approvals to the building as a quid pro quo for allotment of flats to their kin.