CAG blames army brass for Adarsh housing scam

The CAG slammed the military authorities in a report on the Adarsh scam for misappropriation of defence land to benefit influential people. HT reports. What the report says

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) slammed the military authorities in a report on the Adarsh scam for misappropriation of defence land — meant for war heroes and their widows — to benefit influential people.

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Tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, the report said officials, who were “responsible for protection of defence land, betrayed the trust reposed in them for the personal benefit of a number of favoured individuals — all of whom are highly placed.”

The CAG report on the scam, which led to the exit of Ashok Chavan as Maharashtra chief minister in November last year, came down heavily on the top military establishment for trying to please the relatives of politicians, public servants and senior army officers , including former army chiefs Gen Deepak Kapoor and Gen NC Vij.

It said in 2000, the society’s membership was only 40, which reached 102 in 2010. Of them, 65 were not from the defence forces. The report also targeted the union environment ministry and the Maharashtra urban development ministry for ignoring rules being bent to get a NOC.

It said records of the Maharashtra government and the defence estate office proved that the land was in possession of the army. “With unusual alacrity within a span of three days, the army authorities confirmed that the land was outside defence boundary.”

What’s more, the development plan of the area was amended and the area reserved for roads was converted into a residential area to accommodate the interest of the society.