Never gave 'No Objection Certificate' to Adarsh Society: Navy to CBI

Press Trust of India, Updated: November 03, 2010 10:32 IST

• Mumbai: The Indian Navy has told the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), probing the upscale Adarsh co-operative housing society scam in south Mumbai, that it had not issued 'No Objection Certificate' for the construction of the building.

"After we sought details pertaining to the Adarsh Society, the Navy informed us that NOC was not given for the construction of the building," a senior CBI official told PTI on condition of anonymity.

A controversy has erupted over how the Adarsh Society in upscale Colaba, originally meant to be a six-storey structure for housing Kargil war heroes and widows, was converted into a 31-storey building.

The high-rise is built on 6,450 sq metres within the Colaba naval area and was cleared on the condition of housing war veterans but now has 104 members, including senior Army commanders, a former environment minister, legislators and state bureaucrats.

The CBI has also written to the Union and the state Ministry of Environment and Forests, seeking details about the clearance given to construction of the building.

The departments have been asked to provide details like if they have issued a clearance for the construction of building and if the area falls under Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) II, they added.

However, the source said the preliminary probe suggested the area where the building came up came under CRZ I.

If the Navy did not give NOC for construction of Adarsh, then were they sleeping when all of 31 stories came up right before their eyes? Can those who are entrusted to defend our nation be so callous about an unauthorized building coming up in their precincts without their permission?

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/never-gave-no-objection-certificate-to-adarsh-society-navy-to-cbi-64159