Adarsh scam: Maha chief secy under cloud

Mumbai: Maharashtra's chief secretary Ratnakar Gaekwad - the right hand man of chief minister Prithviraj Chavhan - too is not untouched by the infamous Adarsh co-operative housing society scam. As a chief of Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority Ratnakar Gaekwad appear to have granted the occupation certificate to Adarsh society despite strong objections from the Indian navy.

Documents now in possession of CNN-IBN show that on June 25, 2010, the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, addressed a letter to Maharashtra's Chief Secretary, Municipal Commissioner Greater Mumbai and Principal Secretary Urban Development to not grant occupation certificate to the controversial society.

On August 30, 2010, the then chief secretary referred the matter to Ratnakarg Gaekwad, the then Commissioner of MMRDA.

On September 29, 2010, Ratnakar Gaekwad, replied to the naval authorities that occupation certificate had already been issued to the society on September 16.

The letter further states that if the defence authorities are apprehensive of the society from the security point of view then they must approach the commissioner of police.

In his defence chief secretary Ratnakar Gaekwad maintains that the occupation certificate was granted after obtaining approvals from all the relevant agencies.

But what is interesting is that in January 2009 it was Gaekwad who sought the transfer of rights to grant ocupancy certificates from the BMC.

The then BMC commissioner Jairaj Phatak whose son has a flat in Adarsh, readily agreed to give this right to MMRDA following which Gaekwad issued the occupation certificate.

The question is was this just a routine transfer of rights or was it to facilitate a personal gain?

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