Probe panel given terms of reference

The two-member committee, which was appointed on Saturday to conduct a judicial probe into the Adarsh housing scam, has been asked to make suggestions or give recommendations to “eliminate discretion in the matter of allotment of government land to the housing societies, as well as admission of members to such societies”.

The two-member committee, which was appointed on Saturday to conduct a judicial probe into the Adarsh housing scam, has been asked to make suggestions or give recommendations to “eliminate discretion in the matter of allotment of government land to the housing societies, as well as admission of members to such societies”.

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CM Prithviraj Chavan had earlier promised to review land allotment norms to prevent any such scams.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi also highlighted the issue of CM’s discretionary powers – to allot flats or plots to certain sections of the society — at a recent plenary session of the party. She had said that such discretionary powers were the root cause of corruption in many cases.

The probe panel has been given 13 terms of reference to conduct the probe within three months. The probe will also examine whether public servants, who have flats in the society, have violated any provisions of law, including the All India Service Conduct Rules, or Maharashtra Civil Services Conduct Rules.

Importantly, it has been asked to fix responsibility on any person or public servant or authority for various irregularities and suggest action to the taken against them. The office for the committee is yet to be finalised.