Maharashtra human rights commission member Subash Lalla on Monday tendered his resignation on account of his alleged role in the Adarsh housing scam, thus becoming the first IAS officer from the state cadre to lose his job.

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Despite the initial defiance, Lalla gave in to the mounting pressure from the state government, and submitted his resignation to governor K Sankaranarayanan. It was immediately accepted. However, state chief information commissioner Ramanand Tiwari, who was also directed to resign, has not yet obliged. Highly-placed sources in the legal department said: “We will wait for another 48 hours, till Wednesday, for him to voluntarily resign. If Tiwari remains adamant, we will start the process for his removal as we have adequate documents to establish his links in the Adarsh scam.” Lalla’s kin owns two flats in the Adarsh housing society.

The state’s decision to crack the whip against bureaucrats whose names have figured in the Adarsh scam is not going to be restricted to Lalla and Tiwari. A senior officer in the chief minister’s office (CMO) said: “Action against IAS officers serving in various departments in the state as well as Delhi will also begin once the final report of the two-member judicial probe is ready.”

The probe, led by a retired judge, will be given a time-frame of three to six months to complete the exercise. The investigation against 21 officers (including those whose relatives have benefited) will primarily ascertain if the IAS babus have been guilty of clearing the Adarsh file to seek a flat in return for favours given.

Lalla had served as secretary in the chief minister’s office (CMO) when the Adarsh society file was being processed. This was during the tenure of Vilasrao Deshmukh. In his resignation letter that was made public, Lalla maintained he had no role in the Adarsh scam. He said the resignation was voluntary and taken to avoid further embarrassment to the government. Lalla, who goes down as the first IAS officer ‘casualty’ of the scam, said, “My name has been unfortunately and unfairly linked to the Adarsh scam.” He rubbished charges of financial irregularities or violation of rules. In the letter, Lalla said his relative had registered the flat in Adarsh in 2000, much before he became the secretary in the CMO.

“My father, late Shaligram Lalla, worked in the Military Engineering Services in Kamptee Cantonment in Nagpur and continued to stay there post retirement,” he said. “RC Thakur, one of the chief promoters of the Adarsh housing society, lived in my father’s neighbourhood.” It was their good relations that led to his father becoming a member of the society. After his father’s death, the membership was transferred to his mother and gradually his sister was inducted as there were vacancies, he said.