Adarsh building not a threat to military installations: Singh

Retired lieutenant general Tejinder Singh, a member of the Adarsh housing society, on Tuesday told the inquiry commission that he did not heed security concerns of the defence department as he felt that the building did not pose any threat to the army installations.

Retired lieutenant general Tejinder Singh, a member of the Adarsh housing society, on Tuesday told the inquiry commission that he did not heed security concerns of the defence department as he felt that the building did not pose any threat to the army installations.

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“According to me, any high-rise building in the area is not a security threat to the army installations,” said Singh.

Deposing before the two-member Adarsh inquiry commission, Singh said he deliberately did not take up the matter raised by colonel Ajay Saxena in November 2005. “Col onel Ajay Saxena had told me that a list of members was not forthcoming from the collector,” Singh said, adding, “In our analysis, the proposed building was not a security threat to the army.”

Singh had applied for membership in Adarsh on November 23, 2006, when he was the general officer commanding (GOC), Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat area.

The statement, however, is in stark contrast to the stance adopted by the defence, which has currently petitioned the Bombay high court seeking demolition of the building.

He said there were 70 qualified members of the society. “When we prepared the document, we had decided not to add any new members,” he added.