The Hindu : Front Page : Adarsh society challenges demolition order

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Wednesday, Feb 16, 2011
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Adarsh society challenges demolition order

Staff Reporter

Mumbai: Members of the Adarsh housing society on Monday filed a petition in the Bombay High Court challenging the demolition order issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests on January 16.

Sources said the petition stated that the society had taken all the requisite permissions from the government. “It says that society has complied with all the regulations and the MoEF order [of demolition] is premeditated,” an official source said.

According to sources, the petition was filed by Amit Naik of Naik Paranjpe and Co.

The MoEF ordered the demolition of the 31-storeyed building as it violated Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms.

The society has been mired in controversy as it was originally meant to be six-storeyed and was to accommodate Kargil war heroes and their families. Instead, the flats were given to relatives of powerful politicians, bureaucrats and some defence personnel.

The FIR

The Central Bureau of Investigation recently filed a First Information Report (FIR) in the matter and named 13 persons including the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Ashok Chavan, as accused in the case.

The other accused named in the FIR are: Ramanand Tiwari, R.C. Thakur, Kanhaiyalal Gidwani, Brigadier (retired) M.M. Wanchu, P.V. Deshmukh, Pradeep Vyas, Subhash Lalla, Major General (retired) A.R. Kumar, Major General (retired) T.K. Kaul, Brigadier (retired) R.C. Sharma, Lieutenant General (retired) P.K. Rampal and Colonel (retired) P. K. Sinha.

It has accused them of entering into a criminal conspiracy, abusing their official position and manipulating records, among other charges.

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