Adarsh building should be demolished if built illegally: CM

New Delhi, Feb 15 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief MinisterPrithviraj Chavan today said if the Adarsh housing societybuilding in Mumbai was constructed "illegally" then it shouldbe demolished.

"If the building was built illegally, it should bedemolished," he said at the NDTV Indian of the Year awardshere.

Chavan was appointed as the Chief Minister after hispredecessor Ashok Chavan resigned as his name also surfaced inthe scam.

The Environment ministry has said that the 31-storeybuilding located in Mumbai''s upmarket locality at Colaba, wasunauthorised and had been built after flouting CoastalRegulation Zone (CRZ) rules.

"The unauthorised structure should be removed in itsentirety and the area should be restored to its originalcondition," the ministry had said in its 29-page order.

Several politicians, top defence personnel andbureaucrats and their relatives own flats in the high-risebuilding.

The Adarsh scam hit the headlines late last yearindicating a collusion among the powers-that-be to bend rulesfor constructing the building at a site meant for residentialcomplex for retired defence personnel.

Examining the legality of the housing project fromenvironmental angle, the ministry asked the society to removethe structure on its own within three months.