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This is an archive article published on July 9, 2012
Under the World
When it comes to Maharashtra chief ministers using their discretionary powers for allotment of MHADA's public houses and land bank,nepotism and cronyism have ruled the roost.
Written by Express News Service
July 9, 2012 02:24 AM IST
5 min read
5 min read
Made a paan for CM?
When it comes to Maharashtra chief ministers using their discretionary powers for allotment of MHADA’s public houses and land bank,nepotism and cronyism have ruled the roost. The three former Congress CMs – all of them in the dock for their role in the Adarsh housing society scam- have treated the precious housing stock as their fiefs doling it out to their cabinet ministers,close aides,relatives,partymen,personal assistants and journalists. As this paper went about connecting the dots on a few of the lesser-known beneficiaries,some rather amusing links came to the fore. One of the recipients of a high income group (HIG) apartment in Malad is the astrologer of one of the ex-CMs. Enjoying the largesse of another former CM is his wife’s beautician who was rewarded with an apartment in Sion. Two prominent Marathi filmmakers,both classmates of an ex-CM are also amongst the lucky ones to get an apartment each in MHADA’s highly-coveted Versova HIG colony.
Raj Bhavan peons,whom even their bosses envy
It is not just a change in PIN code for those stepping out of the sprawling 37-acre Raj Bhavan premises (the PIN code changes from 400006 to 400035 once you cross the gate). Just outside the Governor’s residence is a multi-storeyed building with flats exclusively for peons working in the office-cum-residence. These may be small one-bedroom 350 sq ft houses,but they offer a sea view that even officers inside the Raj Bhavan complex envy. Recently,clerks and employees above peons in the state government hierarchy have started demanding they too be considered for accommodation in the multi-storeyed apartment. For once,it matters to be among the lowest-ranking in the state government.
Foreign jaunts go up in Mantralaya smoke
The Mantralaya inferno on June 21 upset what promised to be another leisurely all-expenses-paid trip to the UK for top police and home department officials. While Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Amitabh Rajan and Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik were to leave on June 24 to attend a two-week session on homeland security in London,the trip had to be cancelled owing to the fire that gutted the state administration headquarters. While Rajan stayed back since the home department was one of the worst hit by the blaze,Patnaik went on a personal sojourn to the US from June 30 till Sunday. Following the 26/11 Mumbai attacks,top state police and government officials have gone on ‘study tours’ to Israel and London,contributing little to the desired outcome though. A team led by Home Minister R R Patil and comprising senior home department officials and cops visited London last October to study the surveillance system there,but an ambitious plan to install 5,000 CCTV cameras in Mumbai is yet to be executed on the ground.
Teaching jittery babus their duty
Some lawyers who took up the daunting task of defending the government in the Adarsh Housing Society scam may have never felt the black gown weighing their shoulders down more. The reluctance of junior officers from the Mantralaya in briefing them or letting them access to some of their files had made their job not just difficult,but also quite time consuming. Junior babus were so struck by fear that briefing a lawyer was almost seen as getting a free apartment in the scam-ridden highrise. They preferred staying away from briefings. Lawyers had a tough time convincing the state government officials that providing information too was a part of their duty.
WTC culture shock
The shifting of some offices from the Mantralaya to other locations after the fire has led to some unexpected complaints. Some employees found themselves without even notepads or pens at their new offices; computers arrived but minus connectivity and an RTI activist found that the chief minister’s new office didn’t have a rubber stamp. But the most vocal of the complaints came from the employees of the Home Department who were shifted to the World Trade Centre (WTC) in Cuffe Parade,where the state is paying Rs 9 crore in rent for the first few months. Grouses here range from the additional bus fare to the shock that the swish complex towers bring in terms of corporate culture. The BJP has a model solution: Move the offices into Adarsh Society building.
Green,not the only hurdle
At a recent meeting with citizen activists,Municipal Commissioner Sitaram Kunte assured that traffic pile-ups will be a thing of the past if clearances for the propsed coastal road come through. Soon after he left,the buzz was how various groups opposing the project can be brought together. Green clearances for some reclamation along the coast and construction of roads on stilts will not be the only hurdles for the project backed by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan. Citizens’ groups who have spent years to demand,build and maintain sea-kissing promenades at Bandra and Juhu want the government to revive sea link projects. A high-speed road along the coast would mean the end of pleasant evening walks along the sea. Not in our backyard,the chorus starts.
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