Now, Sharad Rao trains guns on CM

The Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society controversy has taken a political turn. Veteran labour union leader and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Rao on Thursday criticised Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, whose late mother-in-law Bhagwati Sharma was allotted a flat in the tower that was allegedly built in violation of environmental and building norms.

The Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society controversy has taken a political turn. Veteran labour union leader and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Rao on Thursday criticised Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, whose late mother-in-law Bhagwati Sharma was allotted a flat in the tower that was allegedly built in violation of environmental and building norms.

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It was also alleged that the 6,490 sq mt plot at Colaba was got in the name of building houses in the name of war veterans and widows, but flats were eventually allotted to politicians, bureaucrats and Army and Navy commanders.

The society’s promoters have denied all charges.

“It is shocking that Chavan’s mother-in-law was allotted a flat in Adarsh,” said Rao. He demanded an inquiry into how floor space index (FSI) — that governs how high a structure can be built — from an adjoining bus depot was transferred to the society. “The FSI could have been used to develop other depots,” Rao said.

The name of Sharma, who passed away at the age of 77 in July at the chief minister’s

official residence, appears in the official list submitted by the society.

Chavan has sought ownership details of the plot.