Friday, November 13, 2015

Suresh Prabhu facilitated and benefited from the Adarsh scam

The appointment of Mr Suresh Prabhu as Railway Minister was influenced by General Electric Company using Mr Sharad Pawar as an intermediary with intent to cover up the corruption complaints and evidence against General Electric Company set out in Writ Petition Civil 1280/ 2012.
I draw your attention to some further facts in connection with Suresh Prabhu's role in facilitating and benefiting from the Adarsh scam.
Suresh Prabhu was involved in permitting the Adarsh building society to proceed with construction in violation of applicable environmental rules including the CRZ regulations.
Suresh Prabhu's modus operandi in facilitating this was very similar to Montek Singh Ahluwalia's facilitation of the Dabhol Project where the latter wrote letters which were interpreted as approval of the financial structure of the Dabhol Project including power pricing. Montek Singh Ahluwalia's modus operandi was to later retract and suggest that his letter was not an approval as he was not authorised to grant the approval.
Correspondence with the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) in 2003 has been used by the Adarsh society promoters and even by the Maharastra State government to argue that environmental clearances including CRZ clearances were obtained from the MoEF in 2003. The MoEF has since denied that it issued any clearance. However, the letters issued by the MoEF which were relied upon as granting clearance which facilitated various Central and State regulatory authorities to assume that someone had granted clearance appear to have involved the hand of Suresh Prabhu.
I reproduce at the end some news reports on the issue of the environmental clearances for Adarsh. Of course, as is usual course in India, a mammoth cover-up of the Adarsh scam has been undertaken shielding many politicians involved. I do point out that such cover-ups are not without cost to the national interest as failure to apply the rule of law even when corruption is exposed contributes to and perpetuates the "sab chalta hai" culture that engenders, breeds and encourages corruption.
But the questions to ask about Suresh Prabhu and the Adarsh scam are:
There was some involvement of the MoEF in the Vajpayee Cabinet in facilitating the Adarsh society. Was Suresh Prabhu involved? Suresh Prabhu has stated that he was not Environment Minister in 2003 when the MoEF cleared the Adarsh structure. But there are several citations on the internet recording that Suresh Prabhu was environment minister in 2003. Plus Suresh Prabhu was environment minister in 1998- 1999 when the Adarsh proposal first came to the attention of the MoEF. Did Suresh Prabhu deal with the Adarsh file as environment minister in 1998-1999?
http://earthjournalism.net/stories/india2019s-river-linking-scheme-a-case-of-troubled-waters

India's River-Linking Scheme: A case of troubled waters
By Keya Acharya, 5 May 2014
Forum of Environmental Journalists of India, India
Dams Himalayas India Rivers Water
With the exception of some select fields, few other issues in India have raised as much passion as the inter-state sharing of river waters. And, stemming partly from this socio-political acrimony together with environmental and economic concerns, India's grandiose National River Linking Project (NRLP), has been on the potboiler ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in 2003 set up a Task Force on inter-linking of rivers, headed by then Environment Minister Suresh Prabhu.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/109931/content/217654/even-giant-can-learn-run.html

The Congress tried to put the blame on the Shiv Sena, as the proposal had first come to the state government when Narayan Rane, who was then with the Sena, was the chief minister in 1999. The party also accused Prabhu of giving the green clearance. Incidentally, Prabhu is a member of the Society and has been allotted a flat in the building.


Suresh Prabhu was no longer a government employee in 2004 when the Adarsh flat was allotted to him. He claims to have purchased the flat with a bank loan. First it has been established that the allotment to Suresh Prabhu was illegal. He could only have been allotted a flat as a private citizen if his income was less than Rs 20,000. Is it Suresh Prabhu's case that he fell within this category? Further, even if Suresh Prabhu fell within this category, he would have been entitled to a flat only half the size of what he was actually allotted. Why was he allotted a larger flat?
More importantly, Suresh Prabhu claims that he did not examine the society documents and its legal compliances himself but merely accepted the position of the promoters and blindly obtained a bank loan and paid money to purchase the flat. Are we expected to believe this?
Suresh Prabhu is a chartered accountant, a former banker and a former Cabinet minister who boasts about his administrative skills and achievements on his bio and website. Are we to believe that with these qualifications, Suresh Prabhu decided to take out a loan and buy a flat without examining the sale papers and the legal status of the property he was buying? Did the bank not insist on a due diligence and on Suresh Prabhu representing that the proposed purchase had been vetted and was legitimate and genuine? Was the bank loan issued against a mortgage of the Adarsh flat? Did the bank not vet the property documents?
Even a common man will not purchase property without assuring himself that the building was authorised? And is Suresh Prabhu saying that being a chartered accountant he decided to purchase property without assuring himself that the construction was authorised and the proposed building had necessary approvals.
Suresh Prabhu was at some time the environment minister in the Vajpayee Cabinet in 2003. He was environment minister in 1998-1999. He was aware of the CRZ notification. He must have at some time as a minister dealt with a file on the Adarsh building, whether or not he himself approved a clearance. He is a Mumbai resident and would have known that the location of the Adarsh building raised issues of CRZ clearances.
And we are expected to believe that despite his specialist knowledge, Suresh Prabhu decided to purchase the Adarsh flat with eyes and ears closed and with no due diligence?
Suresh Prabhu is one of the 32 illegal allottees in the Adarsh building and we are expected to assume that he is innocent and a victim?
Suresh Prabhu obtained a prized Colaba flat at a nominal undervalued price to which he was not legally entitled along with 31 other illegal allottees and he would have gotten away with it if the scam had not been exposed. And we are expected to believe that he was a victim. Why is it that no ordinary citizens were victimised by the Adarsh Society and allotted flats at nominal prices in Colaba? Why are all the illegal beneficiaries of the Adarsh scam powerful politicians and bureaucrats who were all connected in some manner to those public officials or ministries who/ which facilitated the usurpation of land and the illegal construction?
How did Suresh Prabhu end up becoming a part of the Adarsh building society in 2004 if he had no connection to the scam or if he was not being rewarded for corrupt services rendered at some point (like in the Dabhol Project corruption cover-up)? Surely there were many potential buyers for such undervalued Colaba flats. Let Suresh Prabhu explain exactly how he got involved with Adarsh?
Suresh Prabhu must be removed from his position as Rail Minister as his background establishes his unsuitability for this or indeed any other government post.





Adarsh Had No Environment Clearance: Maharashta Govt
MUMBAI | JAN 16, 2013
The two-year marathon inquiry conducted by a judicial commission into the Adarsh scam has ended with the Maharashtra government said to have admitted for the first time that the controversial housing society did not have necessary environmental clearances.

The commission set up in January 2011 wrapped up its inquiry into the scam yesterday and is likely to submit its final report to the state government next month, sources in the panel told PTI.

The government may accept or reject the findings of the commission.

Concluding his arguments, state government counsel A Y Sakhare is understood to have told the commission that the 31-storey plush Adarsh building in south Mumbai was constructed without Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance or nod from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF).

The sources said it is for the first time that the government, which had consistently maintained that no rules were violated in granting permissions to the building, has admitted that the society did not have the required environmental clearance.

The state is said to have supported the MoEF's claim that the March 2003 letter by the Urban Development Department to the society was misrepresented as environmental clearance by one of the accused P V Deshmukh, a former deputy secretary in the department.

The MoEF, in response to UDD's letter forwarding the society's proposal for construction, had said that state has a body- Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA)-to look into CRZ clearances. The MoEF's response was allegedly misconstrued by Deshmukh as a clearance.

The state government in its final arguments is said to have noted that the society should not have constructed 31 floors as the Development Control Regulations (DCR), 1967, applicable to it, did not permit that. According to the state, the building situated in south Mumbai's upscale Colaba, could have been built only up to 46.5 m and not the present 100.7 m.

According to the government, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) wrongly applied DCR 1991 which did not have height restrictions.

The commission, headed by Justice (retired) J A Patil, has started dictating its findings in chamber and will submit its final report to the government by the end of next month.

The commission had in its interim report last year negated the Ministry of Defence's claim on the land where the building stands and held that its ownership rested with the state government. The panel had also noted that the land was not reserved for Kargil war veterans, widows and their relatives.

The commission's final report will throw light on whether requisite permissions had been obtained by the society and if any rules violated by bureaucrats while granting various clearances.

A total of 214 witnesses were examined by the commission including Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, former Maharashtra chief ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh and Ashok Chavan, former army chiefs N C Vij and Deepak Kapoor, several IAS officers and bureaucrats from the state and central government.

Ashok Chavan is an accused in the case but was never arrested.
Click here to see the article in its standard web format

http://www.outlookindia.com/news/article/Adarsh-Had-No-Environment-Clearance-Maharashta-Govt/787124

logoimg
iconimg Friday, November 28, 2014

Sayli Udas Mankikar, Hindustan Times
Mumbai, November 03, 2010
First Published: 00:24 IST(3/11/2010)
Last Updated: 02:04 IST(3/11/2010) Print
Housing scam: Ex-minister wants Adarsh money back

Shiv Sena leader and former Union environment minister Suresh Prabhu said he would send a notice to Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society asking it to return the money he paid for a flat in the 31-storey tower. He also denied granting it any environmental clearance. The tower at Colaba was allegedly built in violation of environmental norms and on the promise that houses would be given to Kargil war veterans and widows. However, most of the flats were allotted to bureaucrats, politicians and army and navy commanders.
The Congress had accused Prabhu of clearing the project while he was environment minister in the National Democratic Alliance government.

"I was not a minister when the clearance was given. I held the post in 1998-1999," said Prabhu on the phone from Singapore on Tuesday. He pointed out that it was the DMK's TR Baalu who was environment minister in 2003.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a partner in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government.

The plot on which the society stands is part of the Coastal Regulation Zone 1, the most eco-sensitive coastal area because it has mangroves and mudflats. In such zones projects costing more than R5 crore require clearance by the Union environment ministry.

Ministry officials, however, have said no sanction was given to the Adarsh project.

Prabhu said he is not a promoter or office-bearer of the society. "I got a flat that was part of a quota for MPs and because it was going at a concession. I took a home loan for it and the flat is still on mortgage," he said.

Prabhu said he got all the clearances required for the loan, including an approval from the collector. "Now I find out the project is in trouble. I will send a notice to the society asking it to return my money," he said.

He insisted that he was not aware of any violations by the society.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/621469.aspx?s=p
© Copyright © 2013 HT Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/no-moef-clearance-was-issued-to-adarsh-housing-society/article855494.ece
No MoEF clearance was issued to Adarsh Housing Society
The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has denied that it has issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) on March 11, 2003, to Adarsh Housing Cooperative Society, Mumbai, for construction of a residential building. The Navy has taken strong objection to grant of clearances to the building, citing violation of norms.

The society, with its high profile members, is in the eye of a storm for violating environmental and other norms and misusing the land granted to it. The MoEF issued a statement on Thursday giving the exact text of the letter dated March 11, 2003, which it had issued to P.V. Deshmukh, Deputy Secretary, Urban Development Department, government of Maharashtra.

The letter notes that "the proposed residential complex falls within the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) - II area. This Ministry has already delegated the powers to the State government for undertaking development in Coastal Regulation Zone -II. Accordingly, the proposed construction may be taken up as per the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 1991 (as amended from time to time) and the approved revised Coastal Zone Management Plan of Greater Mumbai."

The MoEF clarified that any reference from the State government about the coastal matters was examined under the provisions of the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 1991, and the approved Coastal Zone Management Plan of Mumbai.

Height no problem

Citing that the housing society received all necessary clearances and permissions, Adarsh society, in letter, stated that the building plan was approved by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority in stages as per rules. "CRZ [Coastal Regulatory Zone] clearance was obtained from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, New Delhi vide letter NoF.No.J-17011/46/2002-IA III dated March 11, 2003." It also said that CRZ clearance had nothing to do with the height of the building.

It claimed that the height of the building (103.4 meters) was approved by the High Rise Committee headed by Retired Chief Justice of Tamil Nadu. "The final Commencement Certificate was issued by the MMRDA on August 04, 2010 and, lastly, Occupation Certificate was also given on September 16, 2010."

The MoEF denied that this letter gave any permission, pointing out that in March 2003, all construction in the CRZ area, which was permissible under the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification and were in consonance with the approved Coastal Zone Management Plan of Mumbai, had to be considered by the Maharashtra State Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA). At that time, the approval authority was meant to be the State government; in the case of Maharashtra, it was the environment department. The society did not make any application to the environment department, it is learnt.

The Ministry had approved the revised Coastal Zone Management Plan of Mumbai on January 19, 2000. To obtain clearance under the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 1991, the project proponent needs to submit the proposal enclosing the details of construction, classification of Coastal Regulation Zone area in the requisite format to the concerned Coastal Zone Management Authority; in this case this proposal should have been submitted to the MCZMA.

The MCZMA was constituted in January, 2002, in compliance with a Supreme Court order. The statement said clearance under the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 1991 by the MOEF was in a prescribed format. The clearance letter issued by the Ministry was always addressed to the Member Secretary, MCZMA, and copied to all concerned. The power to issue of Coastal Regulation Zone clearance was withdrawn on April 22, 2003, in respect of projects costing more than Rs. 5 crore.

Keywords: Adarsh Housing Society, Mumbai land scam

http://www.sakaaltimes.com/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsId=4703089866048303289&SectionId=5351696313519115080&SectionName=State&NewsDate=20120807&NewsTitle=Demolish%20Adarsh,%20says%20MoEF%20official
Demolish Adarsh, says MoEF official
Reporters Name | PTI | Tuesday, 7 August 2012 AT 11:25 AM IST Send by email     Printer-friendly version
MoEF, Adarsh society, housing scam, demolish, CRZ, CBI, Mumbai
MUMBAI: Reiterating its stand on the Adarsh housing society, a former Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) official told a judicial panel that the building has to be demolished as it does not have environmental clearance.
Former MoEF director Bharat Bhushan told a two-member inquiry commission set up by the state government to probe into the scam, that the Adarsh building stands in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) and hence environmental clearance is mandatory.
"The building has not obtained any clearance from the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA). The MCZMA has not sent any recommnedation to the MoEF regarding clearance to be given to Adarsh," he said.
He said that when the Adarsh scam broke in October 2010, the MoEF had asked for a report from the secretary of the department of environment who is also the chairperson of the MCZMA.
The report stated that no clearance was obtained or given to the plush 31-storey Adarsh building in South Mumbai.
"The final order of Janury 14, 2011, passed by the MoEF for the building's demolition was based on details sent by the MCZMA chairperson, Maharashtra government, hearing of Adarsh representatives, as well as other documents," he said.
'CLEARANCE A MUST'
Ex-MoEF director Bharat Bhushan told a probe panel set up by the state on the scam, that the Adarsh building stands in the CRZ and hence environmental clearance is mandatory.

http://www.governancenow.com/news/regular-story/adopt-adarsh-policies-mr-ramesh-ad-hoc-ones-will-not-do
Nextgen Cities Jaipur

Home > News > Adopt 'adarsh' policies, Mr Ramesh, ad hoc ones will not do
Adopt 'adarsh' policies, Mr Ramesh, ad hoc ones will not do
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Why didn't your ministry stop the controversial building project in 2003 itself?
PRASANNA MOHANTY | JANUARY 17, 2011
         
Environment and forests minister Jairam Ramesh loves publicity, more so if it comes free. It would, therefore, have been naïve not to expect him to issue a demolition notice to the Adarsh housing society which he has done now.

Do bask in glory, Mr Ramesh, but please answer a few questions. The first question is: Why this notice to the Adarsh society now? The 31-storey building that you think deserves to be completely demolished for "egregious violation" of environment laws, got the occupation certificate on September 16, 2010. Which means, the construction activities have already been completed for people to move in.

Presumably, construction began after the Adarsh society applied for environment clearance from your ministry in 2003. Your ministry wrote back on March 11, 2003 saying the appropriate clearing authority under the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification of 1991 was the state government – rather the Maharashtra State Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA).
So, your ministry and MCZMA knew about the case way back in March 2003. Why did both of them go to sleep for the next seven years?

MCZMA has, in its deposition before your ministry, said it had issued notice to the Adarsh society on lack of environment clearance on November 3, 2009. Why did it take six years for it to do so?

The second question, therefore, is: What action do you propose to take against your ministry officials and those of the MCZMA?

The third question pertains to the violation of the CRZ notification of 1991 vis-à-vis section 3(2)(v) of the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986 itself. As your communiqué mentions, this section "provides for 'restriction of areas' in which any industries, operations or process of class of industries, operations or processes shall not be carried out or shall be carried out subject to certain safeguards. Construction of buildings falls with the category of 'process' ".

Find us one more individual, Mr Ramesh, who agrees with this interpretation of "process".  Why is the language so vague and prone to misinterpretation? Is this deliberate or do you expect us to believe that the literacy level of your officials is so poor? No wonder the Adarsh society is protesting, arguing that it didn't violate any the law as this section deals with industries, not housing societies.

The Adarsh society is also right in questioning the locus standi of MoEF, citing the ministry's March 11, 2003 letter, which said the state government was the clearing authority. To which, your communiqué mentions that your ministry has clarified that the CRZ notification was amended on April 22, 2003 (a month later) withdrawing that power from the state government because of "misutilisation" of power. But you are silent on whether this amendment was communicated to the Adarsh society at that time and what action was taken to ensure that the amendment was followed by other applicants.

The Adarsh society is a fait accompli, Mr Ramesh, just as many other big-ticket projects that your ministry first cleared and then issued notices about violations of law when public outcry reached unmanageable levels - Lavasa project in Pune, Vedanta's smelting and refinery plants in Orissa, Jindals' thermal plants in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, Lafarge's mining in Meghalaya and so on. It would be naive again to expect that the Adarsh society would actually be demolished.

Get your act together, Mr Ramesh, and get right the vaguely worded laws, notifications and regulations and ask your men to act proactive, not reactive to public outcry.


- See more at: http://www.governancenow.com/news/regular-story/adopt-adarsh-policies-mr-ramesh-ad-hoc-ones-will-not-do#sthash.k3CdUkan.dpuf

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/getFiles.asp?Style=OliveXLib:LowLevelEntityToPrint_TOINEW&Type=text/html&Locale=english-skin-custom&Path=TOIBG/2010/10/27&ID=Ar00900


Publication: The Times Of India Bangalore;  Date: Oct 27, 2010;    Section: Times Nation;            Page: 9        


No record of environmental clearance: MoEF
MMRDA Allowed Housing Society In Violation Of Coastal Regulation Rules
Prafulla Marpakwar & Josy Joseph | TNN

New Delhi: Adding a new twist to the controversy surrounding Adarsh Housing Cooperative Society, the Colaba highrise in which a clutch of powerful politicians, bureaucrats and former Army chiefs have cornered flats, the Union ministry of environment & forests (MoEF) on Tuesday indicated that it has no records of the building obtaining the necessary environmental clearances. TOI had reported on October 26 how Adarsh Society had appropriated defence land in the name of building houses for war veterans and war widows, and indulged in a host of other violations along the way.

    Based on TOI reports, the MoEF on Tuesday issued a notice to the Maharashtra environment secretary, asking her to examine the project, clearances obtained and the action taken against the violations. The notice says there is a violation of the CRZ (Coastal Regulation Zone) rules and the EIA (Environment Impact Assessment) rules as well. When contacted, Union minister for environment & forests Jairam Ramesh confirmed that his ministry had written to the state government to find out if the building had obtained necessary clearances. The ministry has sought a reply by Monday.

    A day after the TOI report, when the state environment department conducted its own preliminary probe, it found that the urban development department and MMRDA had approved the proposal in blatant violation of CRZ rules in collaboration with the BMC. Although environment secretary Valsa Nair Singh refused to comment, a senior official on Tuesday confirmed that all the rules, particularly under CRZ, were completely ignored. (According to CRZ rules, any project of Rs 5 crore and above has to be approved by the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority and later by the ministry of environment & forests.) "We examined all the applications submitted to MCZMA. We were stunned to find that while the project was within the CRZ area, the society never submitted an application for approval,'' the official said.

    MCZMA and MoEF were both in the dark on the first phase of Adarsh. However, the state environment department stepped in in 2007 when local residents lodged a complaint, saying there were blatant violations in Phase Two of the project. "We had issued a show cause notice to the promoters of the society and asked them to submit the approvals granted to them by MCZMA and MoEF. They failed to produce the documents — instead, they showed us the correspondence between MoEF and the urban development department,'' the official said.

    Vice-Admiral Sanjeev Bhasin, the flag officer commanding-In-chief of the Mumbai-based Western Naval Command, in his letter to the headquarters in July, had pointed out that under CRZ rules, the height of the building had to be restricted to 30 metres. The current height of the building is evidently 100 metres or more, with 31 floors and 124 flats.

    Admiral Bhasin also quoted from a letter that the principal secretary, urban development department of Maharashtra, had written on August 19, 1999, seeking an NOC for the complex since it falls under the CRZ-1 plan. The letter, which was forwarded to naval headquarters, said the members of the society were officers who had "dedicated their lives to service of the Motherland and deserved all special consideration''. It added that several members were even today fighting at Kargil and in surrounding areas. Records show that none of the senior defence officers who own flats there fought in the Kargil conflict.

Land belongs to revenue dept, say officials

Mumbai: Chief minister Ashokrao Chavan on Tuesday said that he has sought information on the row over the allotment of a prime piece of land to the Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society in south Mumbai. "I have carefully read the report in the Times of India and I am seized of the matter. I have asked the concerned departments to submit a comprehensive report on the allegations. Once the information is received, we will decide on the course of action. So far, no decision has been taken,'' Chavan told TOI.

    Meanwhile, Mumbai collector Chandrashekhar Oke has submitted a preliminary report to the revenue department on the controversy over the allotment of the land to the Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society in 2004. The report also deals with ownership of the land.

    Though Oke refused to comment on his report, a senior Mantralaya official confirmed that the land allotted to the cooperative housing society belonged to the revenue department. TNN AMONG THE ALLOTTEES

I A KUNDAN | Former collector of Mumbai, current joint secretary (planning) P V DESHMUKH | Ex-deputy secretary

KANISHKA J PHATAK | Son of former BMC commissioner Jairaj Phatak KANHAIYALAL GIDWANI | Former Congress MLC and sons Kailash and Amit SEEMA VYAS | FDA commissioner JITENDRA S AWHAD | NCP MLA RAJESH KUMAR DAS | VP, Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation

RANJIT SANGITRAO | Son of transport secretary C S Sangitrao

DEVYANI KHOBRAGADE | Daughter of former BEST GM Uttam Khobragade

J M ABHYANKAR | Ex-director, education

ONKAR TIWARI | Son of state info commissioner and ex-UD secy Ramanand Tiwari




Former Union minister Suresh Prabhu denies involvement in Adarsh scam

Tuesday, 2 November 2010 - 7:08pm IST | Place: Mumbai | Agency: PTI

Prabhu, a former Shiv Sena MP who is a member of the Adarsh Housing Society, said that he joined the Society as an MP but when the NDA was not in power.
Former Union minister Suresh Prabhu today washed his hands off the Adarsh scam, saying that he never gave any permission for the project during his tenure in the Union cabinet.

"I never gave any permissions for this project during my tenure as the environment minister," Prabhu said from Singapore.

Prabhu, a former Shiv Sena MP who is a member of the Adarsh Housing Society, said that he joined the Society as an MP but when the NDA was not in power.

"So, there is no question of me influencing any allotment," he said.

"I was not the promoter nor the office-bearer of the Society. I borrowed money from a bank and all the documents were verified before granting me loan," he added.

Prabhu said that his application was scrutinised and verified by the Mumbai city collector. "I followed the same procedure which is a normal routine for applying for membership in such societies."

"If any irregularity regarding the land had been brought to my notice, I would never have become a member. If there is indeed any irregularity, I am a victim," he claimed.




Here is some further evidence on the issue of the unsuitability of Suresh Prabhu for the post of Rail Minister. The relevant news reports are reproduced below. To use an analogy, given his background and involvement in the Adarsh scam, Suresh Prabhu would never have passed the litmus test for consideration to a judicial post. How then could Prime Minister Narendra Modi consider Suresh Prabhu as a fit candidate for a position in his cabinet and that too in the Rail Ministry with the biggest corruption scandal time-bomb ticking away?


Printed from Times Now.tv
Why is Suresh Prabhu underground?
1 Nov 2010, 2048 hrs IST

As the Kargil for Profit scam grows bigger, there is overwhelming evidence that politicians across political colour and creed bent over backwards in colluding with the scamsters. The finger of suspicion also pointing squarely at Suresh Prabhu, the then Union Minister of Environment and Forests and seems to have mysteriously vanished now. As the Kargil for Profit scam blows up too many instances seem to point to the Prabhu.

In fact too many for them to be mere coincidences and that is why Prabhu needs to answer and answer now. He has steadfastly refused to speak on record either on camera or on the phone when TIMES NOW finally caught up with him. Asked him about his apartment in Adarsh Housing Society in Mumbai, Prabhu feigned ignorance and pretended to be surprised. Documents with TIMES NOW however prove otherwise, his name clearly present in the list of allottees.

Raising questions, how can Prabhu claim to not know about a flat he owns? Isn't it too much of a coincidence that he cleared the project and also owns a flat in the building? And most importantly, if he has nothing to hide then why has the high profile Prabhu suddenly gone underground? However these are questions that we have been trying to put to the former Union Minister and he has been doggedly avoiding them and it is this reluctance to answer questions that have been putting Prabhu's role in the scam in doubt.


Suresh Prabhu had resigned from the board of agrochemicals company UPL Ltd, days before becoming the Railway Minister in the NDA government.


"Pawar is also believed to have played a significant role in getting Suresh Prabhu, his friend from the Sena on to the NDA bandwagon for a high profile ministry. This is just a page from the rules of Pawar for Indian politics." Writes Rana Ayub at http://www.ndtv.com/article/opinion/pawar-politics-has-a-separate-set-of-rules-620848

'Alice' who grew too big for Thackeray

SAMYABRATA RAY GOSWAMI

Nov. 10: Onetime Bal Thackeray favourite Suresh Prabhu, who switched to the BJP on Sunday, is the most hated man in the Shiv Sena today.

Prabhu had been inducted into the Sena at a time it was suffering from an image crisis. The Sena-BJP had just come to power in Maharashtra in 1995 and Thackeray bahu Smita was running Sena chief minister Manohar Joshi's cabinet by proxy.

Dizzy with power, the Sena cadre had turned boorish on the streets while accusations of mafia-style governance were eroding the party's appeal. Ahead of the 1996 general election, Thackeray was on the lookout for an image makeover for the party.

He found an answer in his chartered accountant, who headed the Saraswat Cooperative Bank. That Prabhu was also a qualified lawyer helped immensely, as Thackeray would often consult him on sensitive family and governance matters.

The Sena boss made sure the debutant won his Lok Sabha seat and sent him to Delhi to join the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet.

"Suresh never really became a party insider. He was our mascot at the national stage — the sophisticated face in Delhi's power corridors," a Sena senior said.

"He was intelligent and made the most of it. Pretending to be a disinterested politician, he projected himself as a scholar and a man of action, making friends in other parties, mainly among the BJP's leaders and young Turks."

A favourite with Vajpayee, Prabhu began getting top cabinet portfolios. But his growing closeness to the BJP caused heartburn in Matoshree.

Thackeray began sarcastically calling him "Alice in Wonderland" and accusing him of not looking after Maharashtra's (the Sena's) interests in Delhi. "Finally, in 2002, Balasaheb — egged on by both Raj and Uddhav — recalled Suresh from Delhi and forced him to resign from the cabinet. But Atalji made him chairman of a task force on interlinking rivers and kept him in Delhi," the Sena leader said.

"Many wanted him expelled, but a chartered accountant is the keeper of many secrets. So Suresh stayed on and was allowed to win another election."

But the distance between Prabhu and his party grew. In the 2009 polls, with hardly any support from the Sena, Prabhu lost. He became almost an absentee from the party.

The Adarsh scam of 2010 dented Prabhu's "clean" image when it became clear he had received an out-of-turn allotment of a 1,076sqft apartment. Sources close to Prabhu said he was hurt that the Sena didn't come to his defence.

He kept his equations with then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi going — they had been on cordial terms since Vajpayee's time.

They came closer after Prabhu called off his visit to Wharton School in protest at the B-school cancelling a keynote address by Modi last year.

"He's a climber. We all knew it was just a matter of time before he joined the BJP," the Sena source said.


"Meanwhile, the agency is preparing a SCN of the 27 flat owners who were found ineligible to buy a flat in the society. The SCN will be handed over to state Chief Secretary. "The list of 27 members include flats of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade and former Union Power Minister Suresh Prabhu," said the CBI official. Once the SCN on CBI findings is submitted, the state government can decide on the future course of action, he said. "The state can decide on whether or not to cancel their membership," said a CBI official.



Published on The Asian Age (http://www.asianage.com)
Home > Metros > Mumbai > 'CBI left out four offenders'
'CBI left out four offenders'

By editor
Created 9 Aug 2014 - 00:00
In another development to the Adarsh scandal, an activist on Friday alleged before the Bombay high court that the CBI had not filed charges against four main scam beneficiaries as accused, including relatives of Ashok Chavan.

Former scribe and activist Ketan Tirodkar filed a rejoinder before the division bench of Justice P.V. Hardas and Justice Anuja Prabhudesai claiming that Bhagwati Sharma and Madan Sharma, mother-in-law and brother-in-law of Mr Chavan; Devyani Khobragade, former Indian diplomat to US and daughter of former general manager of BEST Uttam Khobragade and former Union minister Suresh Prabhu acquired flats in Adarsh by fraudulent means but they were not made the accused in the case.

He requested the judges to order the CBI to form a special investigating team (SIT) to investigate the conspiracy to save the former chief minister. He contended that the SIT should report directly to the director of CBI. The judges directed the investigating agency to file their reply in this regard within two weeks.

He told the court that all these four persons got flats at very low prices in Adarsh and the CBI had arraigned officers who helped them get these flats, but instead of making these beneficiaries the accused, the CBI had written to the chief secretary seeking action against these persons. He asked why the investigating agency did not make them the accused and named them in the chargesheet as offenders.

Mumbai Age Correspondent mumbai
Copyright © 2011 The Asian Age. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Naresh Kamath, Hindustan Times
Mumbai, July 28, 2012
First Published: 00:51 IST(28/7/2012)
Last Updated: 00:53 IST(28/7/2012) Print
Sena's Prabhu claims he did not know status of Adarsh plot

The two-member panel set up to probe the alleged Adarsh housing society scam was on Friday told by former Union minister Suresh Prabhu, IAS officer Seema Vyas as well Omkar Tiwari, son of former urban development secretary Ramanand Tiwari, that they had not checked the status of the controversial plot before applying for membership.
While Seema Vyas deposed that her membership application form was filled by her husband Pradeep Vyas, the then collector of Mumbai, and that she took a loan from him to fund the purchase, Prabhu, who was the Union environmental minister representing the Shiv Sena at the time, said: "I did not verify the said clearances and I relied on the statements made to me by the society."

Prabhu named Adarsh promoters Kanhaiyalal Gidwani and RC Thakur as the ones who gave him the information.

When asked whether she had checked with her husband since the state revenue department was also under him, Seema Vyas said: "I never had any doubt about the status of the land, and I had discussed the proposal not just with my husband but with many friends and well-wishers. None of them raised any doubt on the status of the land," said Vyas.

Omkar Tiwari, whose father Ramanand Tiwari was arrested in the Adarsh case, said he had not spoken about the land's status with his father, who was the principal secretary of urban development department (UDD) at the time of his application in May, 2005.

"The discussion with my father was on whether I should apply for the membership, and whether I was eligible," he said, and added: "I knew the location of the land, and did not check with my father about its status."

Seema Vyas, who is currently the Commissioner of Employees State Insurance Scheme (ESIS), said: "The contents in the application form are written by my husband. Similarly, the name of the place and the date are also in my husband's handwriting."

She also revealed the financial sources to fund her purchase, which include a loan from her husband. "I took a personal short-term interest-free loan of Rs14.1 lakh from my husband," she said.

The Adarsh scam rocked the state government in late 2010 when a nexus of politicians, bureaucrats and army officials were alleged to have collided to grab apartments in the plush 31-storeyed building at Colaba.

The then chief minister, Ashok Chavan, was forced out of office when it came to light that his kin had secured membership in this society.

© Copyright © 2013 HT Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.

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Adarsh scam: How politicians, their kin and officials became members by flouting normsThe commission said they bypassed existing norms to become a member
Sanjay Jog  |  Mumbai   January 04, 2014 Last Updated at 00:22 IST
Politicians from ruling and opposition parties, bureaucrats and professionals flouted norms to become members in the Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society (ACHS).

A two-member commission, which probed the scam, had observed in its report that of 102 members, 25 were ineligible.  It said the procedure followed by the ACHS for proposing names of beneficiaries was arbitrary and lacked transparency, giving scope for nepotism and favouritism. The Maharashtra cabinet, which was forced to review its earlier decision to reject the report, on Thursday decided to serve showcause notices to them through the Mumbai district collector and subsequently cancel their memberships.

The ineligible members include the kin of former Assembly speaker late Babasaheb Kupekar; diplomat Devyani Khobragade (in the news after her arrest in the US in connection with alleged fake visa case); former union power minister Suresh Prabhu; Sanjoy Shankaran, son of Maharashtra's former chief secretary D Shankaran; Ranjit Sangitrao, son of former bureaucrat C S Sangitrao; vice-admiral (retd) Madanjit Singh; Aditya Patil; Archana Tiwari; Dr S B Chavan; Seema Vinod Sharma; Girish Mehta; Dr Sanjay Radkar; Kailash Gidwani, an elder son of ACHS's co-promoter late Kanaiahlal Gidwani; Bhavesh Patel; Abhay Sancheti; Madanlal Sharma; Shivaji Kale; Rupali Raorane; Capt Praveenkumar; Bhagwati Sharma; Sumeela Sethi, Krishnarao Bhegede; Cdr John Mathes; Nivruti Bhosale and Dr Arun Dawle.

Babasaheb Kupekar had applied for membership in ACHS when he was owning a flat at Powai which was given to him under the chief minister's discretionary quota in 2001. Only after the authorities approved his name, Kupekar, in 2008, sought permission of the CM to allow him to sell his Powai flat. He was allowed to transfer the flat to his daughter.

The commission remarked that on the date of application  (on August 5, 2005) and also on the date when Kupekar was granted membership (May 12, 2008), he was holding the Powai flat. This fact clearly makes him ineligible.

Khobragade, the daughter of former bureaucrat Uttam Khobragade, has been blamed by the judicial commission for breach of the eligibility condition. On behalf of Devyani, her father in his affidavit filed in February 2011 before the commission, informed that the application form for her membership was filled in and signed by him. Devyani has been allotted flat no 2301 (1076 sq ft in A wing). Her father did not mention the price of the flat in any of his affidavits. Both of them have failed to state the source of money for buying flat. The balance sheet annexed to the income tax return for April 2005 to March 2006 discloses that Devyani is a well-to-do person since she owns agricultural land, flats in New Delhi, Aurangabad, Thane, Pune and huge investments. No loan was obtained by   her to buy the flat in the society.

Devyani, in her application dated August 29, 2004, said she was a member of the Meera CHS in Jogeshwari and would resign from the society after a flat was allotted in Adarsh society. The flat in Meera CHS was transferred on September 30, 2008 by Devyani to one Sidharth Basu for Rs 1.90 crore. According to the commission, Devyani's membership, though approved, was illegal.

Suresh Prabhu, Shiv Sena leader and former union power minister, had been allotted a flat of 1,076 sq ft. The commission observed he was not an A-Group government servant as per the 5th Pay Commission. After 2004, he has been a private person and did not come under "persons other than government servants". Though Prabhu was eligible to become a member of ACHS and his membership had been rightly approved by the state government, he was not entitled for a flat having more than 650 sq ft.

Seema Sharma, wife of Vinod M Sharma (brother-in-law of former CM Ashok Chavan); Madanlal Sharma (brother of Chavan's father-in-law); and late Bhagwati Sharma (mother-in-law of Chavan) got flats illegally. The trio had surrendered their flats after the scam surfaced.

Sanjoy Shankaran, a financial consultant, got a flat measuring 650 sq ft. The commission noted the monthly income of Sanjoy was, at the relevant time, more than Rs 20,000 and, therefore, was ineligible.

Ranjit Sangitrao, who had been allotted 650 sq ft flat, in his application had mentioned his occupation as a small  businessman with an income of Rs 15,550. But he did not specify whether the salary was monthly or annual. In supporting affidavit he said it was monthly income.

Ranjit had told the commission he did not own any flat in Mumbai. However, his father C S Sangitrao, a retired bureaucrat, owns a flat in Bandra and his brother Vikram in Andheri. The commission observed that the figure of income showed by Ranjit was false and correct and his actual income exceeded far more than that. Ranjit was not a government servant and fell in the category of beneficiaries who are not government servants. 

The maximum permissible limit of income for a beneficiary falling under this category is Rs 20,000 a month, but on his admission, Ranjit's income was  more than that. Therefore, he was ineligible and the membership granted to Ranjit was not proper and correct, the commision ruled.

Devyani, Chavan among Adarsh scam beneficiaries, says probe report
Nagpur, Dec 20, 2013 (PTI)
 Maha govt rejects Adarsh panel report indicting former CMs. PTI file image
Maharashtra government has rejected the report of the judicial commission of inquiry on the Adarsh scam it tabled in the Legislative Assembly today which indicted several politicians including three former Chief Ministers for "blatant violations" of statutory provisions.

The report of the 2-member commission headed by retired high court judge J A Patil came down heavily on those in authority describing the scam as a "bad precedent" which reflected "greed, nepotism and favouritism" by those associated with it.

The panel found 25 of the society's 102 members ineligible and 22 cases of benami purchase of flats.

The report said Adarsh society enjoyed political patronage of former Chief Ministers, Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushil Kumar Shinde and Ashok Chavan, former Revenue Minister Shivajirao Nlengekar Patil, former Minister for Urban Development Sunil Tatkare and former Minister of Urban Development Rajesh Tope.

Ashok Chavan was the only Chief Minister charge sheeted in the scam by the CBI but Governor K Sankaranarayanan had refused sanction to the investigative agency to prosecute him a few days ago.

The beneficiaries included politicians across the spectrum and their relatives.

Those found ineligible for ownership of flats included former Maharashtra Assembly speaker Babasaheb Kupekar of NCP, senior Indian diplomat in US Devyani Khobragade, former Shiv Sena MP Suresh Prabhu and three relatives of former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who had to step down after the scam surfaced.

Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said the decision on rejection of the findings of the inquiry commission was taken by the Cabinet "in the interest of the people".
He, however, refused to elaborate on how the Cabinet's decision was in larger public interest.

The much awaited report, which was submitted to the state government on April 18 this year was tabled in the House on the last day of the Winter Session today.

The interim report was submitted to the state government on April 13, 2012 and the Action Taken Report (ATR) was tabled on the floor of the House on April 17, 2012.

"Evidence clearly indicates that it is neither ideal (Adarsh) nor role model but a bad precedent. Adarsh is a saga of ideal co-operation but it is a shameless tale of blatant violations of statutory provisions, rule and regulations," the report said.

It expressed "deep regret" over the "greed, nepotism and favouritism" involved in the scam.

"It reflects greed, nepotism and favouritism on part of people who were in one way or the other associated with Adarsh. It is sad story of unscrupulous greed of some persons closely connected with the society.

"Some persons not satisfied with the allotment of one single flat have tried and succeeded in securing flats for their nears and dear ones. They went to the extent of benami transactions in violation of provisions. That such an episode should take place in Maharashtra is a matter of deep regret," it said.

The judicial panel, however, acknowledged the state government's ownership of the land and said it did not belong to Ministry of Defence, defence personnel nor was it reserved for Kargil martyrs or war veterans.

Ashok Chavan, during whose tenure the scam surfaced, was among 13 people who were charge sheeted by CBI in connection with the case.

Chavan had challenged his inclusion in the charge sheet, saying no sanction for prosecution was taken from the Governor which was countered by CBI which argued since he was a former minister at the time of being charge-sheeted, there was no need for sanction.

The court had, however, directed the agency to get sanction for Chavan's prosecution which was denied, apparently leaving CBI with little choice but to close the case against him.

CBI had alleged in its charge sheet that Chavan had increased the floor space index of the controversial Adarsh society in return for flats for his relatives. Chavan had also asked the housing society to take 40 per cent members from civilian category, when it was originally meant only for war veterans, CBI had alleged, adding that Chavan played a key role in the scam.

Chavan's mother-in-law Bhagvati Sharma, sister-in-law Seema Sharma and father-in-law's brother Madanlal Sharma have flats in the society. All of them have been held ineligible by the judicial panel to own flats in the society.


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