Mumbai Mirror: Mumbai: Thursday,
July 21, 2016.
Land records
accessed by Mirror show the IAS officer was never a part of the trust that
owned the historical Dadar structure.
Senior IAS
officer and former state chief secretary Ratnakar Gaikwad, who is at the centre
of the Ambedkar Bhavan demolition row, had no authority to decide the
structure's fate, an investigation by Mumbai Mirror has revealed.
Applications
filed by this newspaper under the Right to Information (RTI) Act revealed that
State Information Commissioner Gaikwad held no position in the People's
Improvement Trust founded by Babasaheb Ambedkar, which owned the 72-year-old
Dadar structure. Gaikwad, claiming to be an "advisor" to the People's
Improvement Trust office-bearers, got the Ambedkar Bhavan demolished in the
middle of the night on June 25, leading to nationwide protests and a massive
march that brought south Mumbai to its knees on Tuesday.
He attended
the trust press conferences after the demolition, gave interviews, and insisted
that the structure was dilapidated. He claimed that the demolition was carried
out after the BMC issued an eviction notice, to which the civic body clarified
that it had nothing to do with the action.
The documents
accessed by Mumbai Mirror show that the land where the building stood was
purchased by Babasaheb Ambedkar, and the current trustees were AS Upshyam, SS
Dhaktode, SN Gaware, VM Dhavare, VA Wagh and SA Gaikwad.
These
documents include the land records from 1943, when Babasaheb Ambedkar owned the
plot, to the present day, showing the People's Improvement Trust's ownership of
the land parcel, and the names of its officebearers.
Ambedkar's
grandson Prakash, who led Tuesday's morcha and who has been demanding Ratnakar
Gaikwad's arrest, said, "We have been saying for the long time that he has
nothing to do with the People's Improvement Trust."
Gaikwad
admitted on Wednesday that he wasn't connected with the trust, and was merely
"advising" the officebearers. "I am not on the board of trustees
or even connected with the trust. The trust's office-bearers came to me for
advice, like so many organisations and NGOs do, and I helped them."
He chose not
to comment on the controversy, but insisted that the structure had to be
demolished after its portion collapsed.
Chief
Minister Devendra Fadnavis, speaking at the Vidhan Bhavan during the state
legislature's monsoon session, slammed the process that led to the demolition.
"The trustees should have informed the BMC, the police, and the fire
brigade," he said.
GOVT MOVES
TO SACK GAIKWAD
Chief
Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that a report on Ratnakar Gaikwad's role in the
Ambedkar Bhavan demolition will be sent to the Governor, Chennamaneni
Vidyasagar Rao. If found guilty, Gaikwad is likely to be removed as the state
information commissioner. When asked whether Gaikwad could be arrested, the CM
said, "It's a process wherein we will send a report to the Governor, who
will advise on the course of action."
Gaikwad,
meanwhile, was defiant, saying only the Supreme Court had the authority to sack
him.
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