CAG report blames army brass for Adarsh scam

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.

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 Asok 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 the indications that procedures were being circumvented to get a no-objection certificate (NOC) for Adarsh.

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.

The norms for high rise buildings were violated for the Society, where maximum height permissible was 45.6 metre. “The society was allowed to construct 28 floors and the total height of the building is 107.55 metre”