ADARSH COOPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETY SCAM: NO “ADARSH” LEFT

A Project by Group 9

Nikhil Gupta 10FN –121 K.S.G.Tarun 10DM -162 Tushar Gupta 10FN – 115 Vishal Aggarwal 10DM – 176 Srikanth Konduri 10FN – 109 Saurabh Thadani 10FN –

102

A surreal dream.... Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society

• Built in Colaba, a plush Mumbai suburb

• Flats were originally meant for Kargil war heroes and their families as a gratitude for their sacrifices

• The army was in “de-facto” possession of the land for 60 years until the flats were constructed.

• Khukri park was built and inaugurated there and was maintained by the army until 2000

• The high rise was designed to be 6 storeys high with an initial members list of 40

• Colaba is an eco sensitive zone

....turns into a twisted plot

First reports of the scam emerged when NAPM led by Medha Patkar raised questions over the legitimacy over the housing society’s existence

In April 2010, an IBN 7 report also brought the scam to light

Following these reports, the Ministry of Defence initiated an inquiry and ordered an investigation

A 31 storey sky rise was built on the back of an order issued by Maharashtra Government Revenue Department

103 members owned flats in the society at the time of the scam, most of whom were top brass defence personnel, bureaucrats and politicians and their kith and kin

A can of worms was opened

Ashok Chavan’s mother-in-law was one of the members of the society. Two other relatives were also owners of flats

Three former CMs - Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushilkumar Shinde and Narayan Rane also owned flats under “benami” names

Former state revenue minister Shivajirao Patil Nilengakar allegedly owns two flats in the name of Dr ArunV Dawle and Sampat R Khidse

Former Army chiefs Generals Deepak Kapoor and N C Vij and former Navy chief Admiral Madhavendra Singh and Vice-Chief Gen Shantanu Choudhary also own flats in the society

...contdThe project had been approved by Ashok Chavan himself in 2002 when he was the revenue minister.

Vilas Rao Deshmukh, as the then CM, had given the initial permissions for the construction of Adarsh Society

Sushil Kumar Shinde, when he was the CM in 2004, gave the final sanction for the project

The list also includes names of Nationalist Congress Party MLC Jitendra Avhad, Congress leader Kanhaiyalal Gidwani and his two sons and serving bureaucrats, Seema Vyas and Idzes Kundan

At the heart of the controversy

Kargil Misused

• The names of war heroes were misused by those in power for meeting their selfish ends

• A strong Army-Politician nexus was exposed

• Permissions were sought and easily approved by using Kargil as a pretext

• Out of the 16 army men, just two were described as Kargil heroes in the initial list of 71 members. Later, it was discovered that neither of these men ever fought the Kargil war.

• The names of these two are now altogether missing from the new list of 103 released by the society in October, 2010

• The income of 40 out of the 87 initial society members was quoted to be a mere Rs. 12000/month

At the heart of the controversyIllegal possession of land

• The army has had the “de-facto” possession of land since a long time.

• In 1999, Dr. S.V. Joshi, then principal secretary in the Urban Development Department, wrote to the Ministry of Environment and Forests asking for a No objection Certificate (NOC) for Adarsh

• The Maharashtra government’s revenue department gave permission to the housing society to construct a high rise on land that was essentially defence property

• The revenue department’s notice makes it clear that in 2003 the land was allotted to Adarsh society with a rider that promoters get an NOC from the defence ministry

• In July 2004, the revenue officials did a sudden u-turn. They cleared the permission, stating that there are no irregularities and no one is objecting

• The army also kept silence at that time.

At the heart of the controversy

CRZ Norms Flouted

• The region lay under the jurisdiction of the Coastal Regulation Zone II

• Any building in the area should not exceed the height of 30 metres, which comes out to be 5 or 6 storeys

• Adarsh Soceity however, was 31 storeys high

• The area is highly sensitive with a number of army and navy establishments in its vicinity

At the heart of the controversy

Army’s image tainted

• Corrupt officials from the government and bureaucracy co-opted with each other to pamper themselves with flats in the society

• Everyone got to enjoy a piece of the pie

• The army also got dragged into the quagmire that put a botch on its unquestionable ethos of ethics and righteousness

• The names of some of army’s top brass featuring in the members list of the soceity sent shock waves everywhere

The Aftermath“Politically motivated” is what Ashok Chavan had to say when asked about his opinion on the emerging situation involving Adarsh Society. “The facts are before us,” he said. “Why should I resign?”

Shortly afterwards, he resigned from his post after receiving a directive from Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to resign

In January 2011, an FIR was filed against 13 persons accused in the scandal. It states that Chavan played a key role in the conspiracy and abused his official position as revenue minister back in 2000 and later as CM

The Army has also ordered a through inquiry to probe the involvement of serving as well as retired officers in the scam

The Environment Ministry soon joined in and issued a show cause notice in January, 2011 commanding that the illegal floors of the society should be entirely demolished within the next three months

Ethical issues Why everyone agree to become a partner in crime, rather than opposing it?The names of the war widows were used to gain favours, but they actually received nothing. Is this justified?National security vs. personal gains – what is “the” thing more important than personal motives for a citizen?Involvement of army – they have always been the guardian of honour and forthrightness.

Then why is this cancer of political sycophancy and self-interest above service spreading, that too in such a non-invaded profession?Is demolition the right solution?

Analysis from ethical viewpoint

When everyone was passing the buck, each was interested in “What’s in it for me.” – Kohlberg’s stage 2.Individuals involved got all the support from people who had power, but only for the wrong things.

Everyone was interested in getting their hands dirty in the scam, rather than upholding their responsibilities.

Individuals at high positions should not break the trust of the people, as it will then lead to questioning of the entire system. They need to be more virtuous of the system.

If self-interest drives the system, then it would be misused by everyone.

WIN-LOSE situation: The families of the Kargil War heroes got nothing out of the scam.

Analysis contd..Reasons for the involvement of army:

According to general human psychology, if we fail to honour someone deserving of it, he will gradually loose the motivation to be honourable.This principle applies at both individual and establishment levels. The defence forces have been systematically and consistently degraded since India became a republic, both in terms of social standing and economic well-being. The incentives given to an army person is meager, compared to what the politicians and other professions earn. Then what can keep an army man away from seeking for chances to earn some more money, by hook or by crook?

Can only honour, uprightness and forgiveness earn him money to feed his stomach?

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