Shinde shifts blame

Shifting blame of the Adarsh Housing Society scam on his predecessor,Union Power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Monday told the two-member judicial panel that he had not issued the Letter of Intent (LoI) or granted additional Floor Space Index (FSI) to the housing society during his tenure as Maharashtra Chief Minister.

Shifting blame of the Adarsh Housing Society scam on his predecessor,Union Power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Monday told the two-member judicial panel that he had not issued the Letter of Intent (LoI) or granted additional Floor Space Index (FSI) to the housing society during his tenure as Maharashtra Chief Minister. But these decisions were taken by Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh,during his tenure as CM of Maharashtra before January 18,2003,Shinde said.

According to Shindes deposition and paper records,the decision to allot the land in question to Adarsh society was taken prior to him taking over as the CM. The Letter of Intent (LOI) was issued in favour of Adarsh on the morning of January 18,2003 when Vilasrao Deshmukh was the chief minister. It was not issued under my instructions and it was never brought to my notice, Shinde said. Shinde had take oath on same evening and taken charge of the office only after 8 pm,he claims.

Both Shinde and Deshmukh,who have handled the Adarsh papers during their tenure as CMs,have been questioned by the CBI earlier. CBI has been investigating into the scam since last year and had arrested nine of the 14 accused named in the scam. Another former CM Ashok Chavan is one of the accused.

The 71-year-old Shinde was deposing before a two-member inquiry commission set up by the state government to probe into the Adarsh scam,which has already concluded that the land belongs to the State Government. As per the Commissions interim findings,the land was never reserved for Kargil war heroes as alleged.

The Commission is now looking into its other terms of reference to ascertain if any rules were flouted by bureaucrats and Ministers while granting permissions to the building. The Commission,through counsel Dipan Merchant,asked Shinde specific questions on his role in granting additional FSI. The grant of additional FSI to Adarsh from the adjoining BEST land was not granted during my tenure. It was granted after my tenure, Shinde said. Deshmukh had taken charge as CM after Shindes exit,too,in November 2004.

When Merchant asked whether due verification had been done before issuance of Letter of Allotment (LOA) to Adarsh society on July 19,2004,Shinde said,It is physically impossible for the CM to look into each and every file. There are secretaries to assist the CM who go through all the files.

Shinde further added,Once a file is signed by the chief minister,all administrative orders are later issued by the secretaries,principal secretaries and deputy secretaries. Even the terms and conditions of the LOI and LOA are usually decided at the departmental level. Only if there is anything specific is it brought to the notice of the CM.

Story continues below this ad

I did not approve the Adarsh file immediately. Before issuing LOA,I sent it back to the Collector for verification of eligibility of the 51 members and asked the file to be put up before me after due verification, the minister said.

Claiming that he had not met any members of the Society,Shinde further added that only Congress MLC Kanhaiyalal Gidwani,one of the promoters of Adarsh society,used to meet him regularly regarding issuance of LOA.

With Shindes deposition completed,the commission will examine Deshmukh as its witness on Wednesday,followed by Chavan on June 30.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram