Not told Adarsh plot was in army possession, says ex-CM Vilasrao

Former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, during whose tenure key clearances were given to the Adarsh housing society in Colaba, on Tuesday told a two-member inquiry commission that state bureaucrats did not inform him about the land being in the military’s possession, and that he was not aware a garden existed on the plot.

Former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, during whose tenure key clearances were given to the Adarsh housing society in Colaba, on Tuesday told a two-member inquiry commission that state bureaucrats did not inform him about the land being in the military’s possession, and that he was not aware a garden existed on the plot.

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Another former CM, Sushil-Kumar Shinde, had deposed before the panel on Monday, when he blamed Deshmukh for the decision to allot land to the society.

Deshmukh passed the buck to bureaucrats, and said he was also not told that the state road development authority had objected to the state’s plans to reduce the width of Prakash Pethe Marg from 60.97 metres to 18.40 metres to make more land available to Adarsh society.

The Union science and technology minister, who was accompanied by his son Amit, deposed before the panel for two hours.

It was also during Deshmukh’s term that the reservation of an adjacent BEST plot was changed to residential use, and its additional FSI given to the society so that it could build more floors.

Deshmukh is likely to address the issue during his deposition that continues on Wednesday.