Mumbai:
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Union Science and Technology Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has appeared before the two-member judicial commission probing the Adarsh Society scam.
When Mr Deshmukh was Chief Minister, a Letter Of Intent was issued for the project; land was earmarked for it by reducing a public road and building rights from an adjoining bus depot was transferred to Adarsh.
The commission questioned former Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Monday in connection with the scam. Seeking to wash his hands off the scam, Mr Shinde told the panel that the decision to allot government land and grant of additional Floor Space Index (FSI) to the housing society was taken during Mr Deshmukh's tenure as Chief Minister.
Both Mr Shinde and Mr Deshmukh had handled files pertaining to the controversial society during their stint as Maharashtra Chief Ministers.
"The decision to allot the land in question to Adarsh society was taken prior to my taking over as Chief Minister. The Letter of Intent (LOI) was issued in favour of Adarsh on the morning of January 18, 2003, when Vilasrao Deshmukh was the Chief Minister. It was not issued under my instructions and it was never brought to my notice," Mr Shinde told the probe panel.
While the commission has already concluded that the land belonged to the state government and not the Ministry of Defence, it is now looking into whether any rules were flouted while granting various clearances to the society.
Mr Shinde, however, claimed that while issuing the LOA, it was not brought to his notice by the concerned department as to who was in possession of the land in question.
"It is physically impossible for the CM to look into each and every file. There are secretaries to assist the CM who go through all the files," he said.
Next in line for questioning is Mr Ashok Chavan, Who is scheduled to appear before the commission later this month.
The CBI alleged that in 2000, as Revenue Minister, Mr Chavan cleared the inclusion of civilians into a building meant for Defence personnel. In exchange, three of his relatives allegedly got flats.
Later, Mr Chavan also granted building concessions by changing the area's development plan.