Ahead of hearing,probe panel inspects Adarsh

The panel headed by retired High Court Justice J A Patil with former Maharashtra Chief Secretary P Subramanian as its member,along with the heads of state departments and lawyers,visited the spot on Wednesday. “The visit is just for the commission’s better understanding of the case. We wanted to know exactly what we are dealing with when we begin our hearing on April 18. The visit was just an inspection and nowhere meant to draw any conclusion,” said Patil.

Spending over four hours at the spot,the commission,along with the representatives from the office of Chief Secretary,GOC – Maharashtra and Gujarat,Metropolitan Commissioner,the BMC,Adarsh Society,Revenue and Forest Department,Urban Development Department,Defence Ministry and the collector’s office of Mumbai,also participated in the site inspection.

The panel was constituted to look into the matter of land ownership of Adarsh society — if the land was reserved for families of Kargil war martyrs,reservation of flats,expansion of (nearby) Prakash Pethe Road,change in reservation of the BEST (civic-owned) plot,violation of Coastal Regulation Zone norms and role of bureaucrats.

“Although we have documents procured from different departments and the society members,we needed to have a proper idea of the alleged violations. We visited the society and vetted the surrounding areas too,” Patil added.

The panel,which that has been set up under the Inquiry Commission Act,1952,will work like an ideal court with two advocates (prosecution) Dipan V Merchant and Bharat Zaveri,who are appointed to argue the case on the court’s behalf,while state departments MMRDA,BEST,UDD,along with the members of the society will have to defend themselves before the panel.

“The commission will need the inspection notes for reference during the hearing,” Patil added. A commission office has been set up at the third floor of the old customs office in South Mumbai. The hearing is scheduled from April 18,which is expected to be attended by all society members or their representatives.

The society was allegedly first promoted as one for the welfare of Kargil martyrs’ kin,but the flats were later allotted to the relatives of bureaucrats and politicians.

The Central Bureau of Investigation,which is investigating the matter,has filed an FIR against 13 people,including Ashok Chavan,the then Chief Minister,along with 12 others belonging to Army,Defence Estate Office,Government of Maharashtra,public servants and unknown persons.