Why is govt silent on Adarsh land ownership,asks inquiry panel

The inquiry commission set up to probe the Adarsh Housing Society scam,on Thursday questioned Maharashtra governments silence on the ownership of the disputed land in South Mumbai.

Why is the state government not saying anything on ownership of the land? The Army has already submitted documents claiming the land belongs to them. What is stopping the state government? Why is it keeping silent, asked retired High Court Justice J A Patil,who is heading the two-member commission.

The proprietary issues were discussed after the Ministry of Defence submitted two development plans today in which they claimed the ownership was with them even even prior to 1937 as per records.

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The societys claim that it reclaimed the land from the state government in the 1970s cannot be correct. The plans clearly states defence held proprietary even prior to 1937, said advocate Dhiren Shah,appearing for the Defence Ministry.

The commission,that was scheduled to begin recording of evidence today,had to adjourn the hearing until May 2 as several departments of the state government including the MMRDA,Urban Development and Environment department again sought time to submit all documents pertaining to the society. First witness before the commission is Brigadier Deepak Saxena.

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