Adarsh panel summons Sushil Kumar Shinde

Mumbai, May 2: Union minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has been summoned to appear as a witness before the two-member enquiry commission probing the Adarsh Housing Society scam.

Union Power Minister Shinde was chief minister of Maharashtra when files related to the Adarsh building located in upscale Colaba were processed.

Shinde, as chief minister, had accepted a proposal sent by Ashok Chavan, the then revenue minister between 2001-2003, recommending 40 per cent allotment of flats to civilians.

Apart from Shinde, several other bureaucrats, who have been named as accused by CBI in its FIR registered in January this year in connection with the scam, have also been summoned to depose before the commission.

The witnesses include - Adarsh society's general secretary R C Thakur, former principal secretary of Urban Development department Ramanand Tiwari, Congress leader K L Gidwani, former collector of Mumbai, Pradeep Vyas and former under secretary of Urban Development department P V Deshmukh.

The commission headed by retired High Court Justice J A Patil today began recording the evidence of Brigadier Deepak Saxena, who said that it is the Defence Estate Office (DEO) that maintains a register pertaining to all properties belonging to the Army.

"I will have to check from which date the register is being maintained. Although there is no entry in the register regarding the plot where Adarsh society is standing, all other documents like Development Plans show that the land belongs to the Army," Saxena said.

The commission will continue recording Saxena's deposition on Tuesday, May 3.

PTI