Vilasrao Deshmukh pushed Adarsh seven times: RTI

Leader of opposition in the state assembly Eknath Khadse has trained guns on former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and alleges that major approvals to the Adarsh society were given in the latter’s tenure. Khadse’s party colleague and national secretary Kirit Somaiya, has submitted a letter to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) stating that Deshmukh on seven occasions had written to the departments to expedite the procedure of approvals.

Somaiya has attached the documents procured under RTI, to prove his claims. According to the documents, Deshmukh directed urban development department to speed up the procedure between August 2000 and March 2002. The noting on the file stated read as - Please expedite, please process this urgently, priority to put up file etc.

One of the documents attached, also has revealed that as late as in August 2005, the urban development department had noted on the file that the plot is under CRZ - II regulation and hence the permission of Ministry of Environment and Forest (MOEF) was a must. The revenue department of the state government in July 2004 had stated that since the land was marked as a CRZ, the society should take permission from the MoEF and also from MMRDA and BMC.

This was much after deputy secretary PV Deshmukh had misled BMC by falsely representing the MoEF noting as the permission.

He wrote in March 2003 and claimed that the MoEF had no objection to the construction of the building. In fact, MoEF had noted that since the plot falls under CRZ-II, the state government is competent to give permission.

Defence Estate Office had then written to Pradeep Vyas, the then Mumbai Collector, and informed him that the plot belongs to the Army as per the survey of India maps. The noting on the file in January 1998 and September 1999 by revenue ministry of state government had stated that permission cannot be given to any housing society.

Somaiya said that the papers prove the involvement of officials and then CM Deshmukh. “CBI should investigate the connection and take action accordingly,” he said.