India Today; Mumbai, October 29, 2010
Days after the Adarsh Nagar Cooperative Housing Society scam was exposed, yet another land scandal in Mumbai has now put Maharashtra's high and mighty in the dock.
The land allotted to Maharashtra cadre IPS officers in the posh Juhu area has been put to commercial use causing heavy loss of revenue to the exchequer. The matter was exposed following a Right to Information Act (RTI) application seeking details of IPS officers availing government quarters.
When this prime land was allotted to senior IPS officers in 2003, it was under an agreement that it would not be sold again. It was meant strictly for service apartments and not for commercial purposes. The third condition was that these officers would not seek a government quarter as long as they were posted in Mumbai.
But several high-profile police officers of the state threw all norms to the winds in leasing their houses for lakhs of rupees. When the issue reached courts, rulebooks were changed overnight to suit the influential IPS officers' lobby.
Under a new law in 2008, Mumbai was divided into two parts -- city and suburbs -- to ensure these officers do not have to give up their official quarters in the city.
The whistleblower in this case -- RTI activist Anand Joshi -- said, "Despite the 2,500 square feet flats being allowed to the IPS officers, 32 of them continue to live in government quarters. I have a detailed list that shows for how long they have been residing in these quarters."
Earlier this week, a scam involving allotment of army land in Colaba for Adarsh Nagar Society was exposed. The property, meant for Kargil war heroes and widows, was grabbed by army and navy top brass along with several senior IAS officers and politicians as well as their relatives at rates much cheaper than the prevailing market price.
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