Ready to demolish 'Adarsh' if violation confirmed: Jairam

New Delhi: Environment minister Jairam Ramesh has said that he could order demolition of the Adarsh Housing Society if the final investigation confirmed that norms were violated for its construction.

In what can compound troubles for beleaguered Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan, the minister said that he would even go to Parliament to ensure stiff penalties for non-compliance.

“Unfortunately the penalty for non-compliance is not strong, I will go to Parliament and ask for stiffer penalties,” he said. Mr Ramesh’s statement comes on a day when Congress president Sonia Gandhi said that the UPA government would not countenance environment violations.

The state government’s report is expected on Thursday. The interim report has “unequivocally” noted that the society did not take mandatory clearances from the state environment ministry and the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority. The final report is likely to say the same. “The due course of action will be considered then but MoEF has the power to order demolition of the building,” Mr Ramesh said. Indicating that the environment ministry would not back off on taking strong measures, the minister cited the demolition of several illegally-built storeys of the White House in central Delhi.

The leadership at the Centre has made up its mind over the removal of Mr Ashok Chavan. The question of selecting a successor will have to wait till after the US president Barack Obama’s India visit.

The US president will be in Mumbai and the Congress can’t afford a change at the top at this juncture.

The Congress leadership also requires some time to zero in on a successor as several leaders of the Maharashtra Congress has been linked to the scam. Other contenders for the state’s top job don’t have the required political heft and support from the ally to head the government in the state. Discussions are continuing over the likely successor and a decision will be taken after president Obama’s visit.