Maharashtra seeks babu's ouster in adarsh scam

The Maharashtra government sent a formal request to governor K Sankaranarayanan for the removal of state information commissioner Ramanand Tiwari on Tuesday.

The Maharashtra government sent a formal request to governor K Sankaranarayanan for the removal of state information commissioner Ramanand Tiwari on Tuesday.

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The main reasons cited for removing Tiwari are clearances granted by him to reduce width of a road, change its reservation and that of an adjoining BEST plot to benefit the controversial Adarsh housing society, when he was the urban development secretary.

The state cabinet cleared the decision of the bureaucrat's ouster on grounds of 'misconduct' by Tiwari in the Adarsh scam. Tiwari's son Omkar owns a flat in the Colaba tower.

The governor is now expected to suspend Tiwari and seek an enquiry against him by the Supreme Court. While the enquiry is on, Tiwari will be asked to stay away from his office.

According to sources, the state had sought opinion of the law and judiciary department and the advocate general before seeking Tiwari's removal.

"We have submitted enough grounds to take action against Tiwari. His appointment post-retirement was made after political considerations. As such he can be asked to resign on moral grounds until formal guilt is proven," said Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan.

The formal dossier that makes the case for Tiwari's removal points to two specific violations by him — the reduction and changing reservation of the Prakash Pethe Marg in Colaba and changing reservation of the BEST depot, adjoining Adarsh. The decisions directly benefited the society by providing the tower with additional area and Floor Space Index (FSI).

In both cases, Tiwari took decisions after overruling objections raised by other state agencies, including the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority and the BEST.