Whose land is it anyway?

CBI officialsu00a0say neither Defence Ministry nor state government has been able to furnish documents proving their ownership; the land did not even have a survey number before it was allotted to the society

The Adarsh Housing Society may have been built on no man*s land. CBI investigations into the scam have revealed that neither the state government nor the armed forces held a clear title to the land.

In fact, the plot did not even have a survey number of its own and one was generated for it only after the promoters of the society applied for the land*s allotment.


The Adarsh Society scam cost former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan his chair and the
matter is now being investigated by the CBI

A CBI official said that, so far, neither the Defence Ministry nor the state government has been able to furnish any documents to conclusively establish who the land actually belongs to.

"The city survey number on the land was also generated and allotted only after the plan for Adarsh was submitted by the chief promoter," added the CBI official on condition of anonymity.

Investigations have revealed that established procedures were also broken by the defence officials.

"Local officials have to take the approval of the defence ministry even if the land wasn*t under the possession of armed forces", said the official.

Former IPS officer Y P Singh who played a crucial role in the scam expose said, "According to the Limitations Act, the land undoubtedly belongs to the armed forces, which has been in its possession for more than 12 years."

Before his resignation, former chief minister Ashok Chavan had said, "The land belongs to the state government. Based on the collector*s records, land was granted to the Society as per GR of 9.7.1999."