8/12/2019 Adarsh Impunity (DONE)

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EDITORIALS

JANUARY 4, 2014 vol xliX no 1 EPW Economic & PoliticalWeekly8

The Maharashtra governments role in the Adarsh Housing

Society scandal which first became public in 2010 has

consisted of desperate attempts at a cover-up, hypocriticalgestures to appease public indignation and now a blatant shield-

ing of the powerful politicians and bureaucrats indicted by a

judicial commission.Four former chief ministers (including one

who is now the union home minister), 12 senior bureaucrats and

two ministers currently in the state cabinet have been held

responsible by the commission for blatant violations that

showed greed, nepotism and favouritism. One of those indicted,

Ashok Chavan, was the chief minister when the scandal broke

and was forced to resign. The entire saga has exposed yet again

the lengths to which the Indian politician-bureaucrat nexus can

go to corner housing and plots in prime locations for themselves

and their privileged circles. More importantly, the state govern-

ments rejection of the commissions report illustrates how the

power elite will go to any length to protect its own.

The Adarsh scam is not an isolated example. A similar scandal is

the allocation of land at throwaway prices to the Union Parlia-

mentary Affairs Minister Rajeev Shukla by the current state govern-

ment. In early December 2013, the media reported that an educa-

tion society headed by Shuklas wife was allotted a large plot of

land in 2008 at a prime location in Mumbai for just under Rs 1 lakh.

The plots market value runs into crores of rupees and it had been

earlier reserved for a municipal school and playground. Shukla

reportedly urged the state government to reclaim the land follow-ing adverse media reports, saying he had been unable to use it.

The Bombay High Court is currently hearing a public interest liti-

gation (PIL) about allegations that in many cases Shukla or his

relatives have been allotted flats under the chief ministers dis-

cretionary quota. These flats are sold way below the market rates

and are meant for deserving persons from various categories who

would otherwise not be able to afford housing at the commercial

rates. The PILnames a number of prominent politicians from the

ruling coalition as beneficiaries of such multiple allotments.

Given the stranglehold that the builder lobby has over Mumbais

real estate and the growing evidence, as also public belief, that

the political nexus with this lobby has priced affordable housing

in Mumbai out of the reach of most working people, the Adarsh

scandal led to a massive public outcry. The building, in southMumbai, was reportedly planned as a six-storey structure meant

for war heroes of the Kargil war and their families. However, in

its present avatar it has 31 floors with 25 of the societys 103

members ineligible according to the original guidelines and 22

cases of benamipurchases. These include a former speaker of the

assembly, a former Shiv Sena parliamentarian and minister and the

Indian diplomat in the United States, Devyani Khobragade, who

has been charged with underpaying her domestic help.

Before the judicial commissions report, the Public Accounts

Committee (PAC) had tabled its report on the scandal in the

Lok Sabha pointing out that at every level rules had been bent.

Incidentally, the PACtook the army and navy authorities along

with the state government to task on this issue. The Union Min-

istry of Environment and Forests too had ordered the building

demolished for violation of the coastal regulation zone (CRZ)

rules. The state government had to be fought at every step

through right to information (RTI) applications, and public and

political campaigns before it yielded.

Despite all the censures, it sat on the judicial commissions

report that was submitted in June 2012. Finally, the Bombay High

Courts intervention led to the tabling of the report. In the action

taken report, the chief minister stated without any sense of irony,

that the second part of the report (indicting the high and mighty)was being rejected in the public interest! No explanation was

given. Earlier the governor had refused to sanction prosecution of

Ashok Chavan by the Central Bureau of Investigation, though the

legal grounds on which this decision was made remain doubtful.

The state governments intractability is not surprising. Excep-

tions are always made to accommodate the powerful. Yet, the

rhetoric is always about the interests of the poor. If the hypocrisy

of the latter needs i llustration, one only has to look at Mumbais

development, where every concession has been made to meet

the needs of those who already have enough while the numbers

of people without secure housing continues to burgeon.

Adarsh Impunity

Something rotten in the state of Maharashtra.