Activists blast govt for reinstating tainted Pune civic body official

Leading civic activists have condemned the Maharashtra government for reinstating tainted civic official, Shirish Yadav, whose wife Pratiksha had thrown currency of Rs9.5 lakh from their Erandwane apartment window during an anti-corruption bureau (ACB) raid in February 2007.

Yadav was arrested in connection with the bogus TDR (transfer of development rights) scam relating to Survey numbers 143 and 144.

In an exclusive report on August 2 (‘State govt reinstates tainted PMC official’), DNA reported how the state government has ordered Yadav’s reinstatement as deputy collector. Following this order from the revenue and forests department on July 18, Pune municipal commissioner, Mahesh Pathak, released Yadav from the services of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on July 21.

The matter came to light
following a file inspection undertaken by DNA at the PMC
under the Right to Information Act, 2005.

President of Surajya Sangharsh Samitee, Vijay Kumbhar told DNA that the state government on the one hand was taking away powers of local self-government bodies to prevent vested interests and on the other hand was demonstrating how to misuse the powers. He said the government order reinstating Yadav has paved the way for reinstating corrupt officials of the PMC.

Another civic activist and president of Sajag Nagrik Manch, Vivek Velankar, said the government’s decision to end Yadav’s suspension and reinstate him had exposed its hypocrisy. “On one hand, the government claims to be against corruption and on the other itself supports the corrupt,” he said.

Nagrik Chetana Manch (NCM) president, Maj Gen (retd) SCN Jatar, told DNA that the state government and the PMC should follow the high court rulings in the Kothrud TDR scam. The NCM had filed a petition in the Bombay high court in 2006 demanding a thorough inquiry into the scam and stiff punishment for those found guilty. The case is pending before the high court.

Group leader of Shiv Sena in the PMC, Sham Deshpande, who had played a leading role in exposing the scam, told DNA that the PMC must follow the high court ruling in the case.

The high court had, about 10 months ago,  ordered the civic body to conduct a departmental inquiry into the scam. Such an inquiry would expose many wrongdoings. But the PMC administration is delaying action on the issue.

The Kothrud TDR scam came to light in 2005, in which the PMC had paid compensation for a plot of 36,000 square metres on which there was reservation for a public garden. However, the suspects had duped the PMC by acquiring TDR for the same plot by using forged documents. Yadav is one of the accused in the case.