20 Maharashtra government bureaucrats infiltrated Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society

NEW DELHI: As many as 20 bureaucrats working with the Maharashtra government, or their relatives, were rewarded with flats in the Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society.

A perusal of the list of 102 members of the high-rise apartment makes it clear that babus grabbed a significant portion of the housing society. The list includes bureaucrats who played a crucial role in granting clearances at various stages.

They are former urban development department principal secretary Ramanand Tiwari, who facilitated the acquisition of the approach road to the bus depot as additional floor space index; then UDD deputy secretary PV Deshmukh, who helped in circumventing environmental laws; and former Greater Mumbai municipal commissioner Jairaj Phatak, who accepted the society's contention that on October 21, 2009, there "is no need to obtain fresh NOC from the high-rise committee for raising the apartment's height".

Ramanand Tiwari's son Omkar, Jairaj Phatak's son Kanishka and PV Deshmukh himself were granted membership in the society. Former Mumbai collector IA Kundan, who was dealing with matters relating directly to the society, too was rewarded with a flat.