“Kalpataru Towers at Kandivli is yet another glaring example of the strong nexus between builders, politicians and bureaucrats, where no effort has been spared to stealthily grab defence land to favour a private developer,” said BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, after filing a formal complaint in the defence land case with Maharashtra's Lok Ayukta.
In his petition, Somaiya has named six litigants -- the revenue minister, revenue secretary, collector-mumbai suburban, city survey officer (Mumbai Suburban), and tehsildar (Borivili) -- and has urged the Lok Ayukta to investigate their role in facilitating the handing over of defence land to make way for the 31-storeyed Kalpataru Tower. “The Lok Ayukta will now call for an explanation from the six parties and we hope that the truth behind the shady deal will come out in the open,” said Somaiya.
In his complaint, Somaiya has urged the Lok Ayukta to thoroughly check the list of members of Kalpataru Towers, which could give a lead to the wrongdoings. “As in Adarsh, we are afraid of manipulation and benami transactions in this Adarsh-2,” Somaiya wrote in his complaint, which is supported by 140-pages of documentation and RTI replies that corroborate his stand against the government and the developer.
Somaiya had exposed the case last week, demanding a CBI inquiry into the state government's role in handing over the defence plot to Kalpataru Group. Alleging that the deal was pushed through in 2007 despite objections from defence officials, Somaiya said that the then chief minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh, and revenue minister Narayan Rane had violated rules by not seeking the consent of the defence department before giving the land to the developers.
Also, the government hurriedly de-reserved the plan which was meant for industries, gardens and public recreation, before handing it over the developer.
“Not only did the builder convert a large portion of the nullah into parking area for the tower, but he also used the plot's TDR for the building,” said Somaiya in his complaint, which includes correspondence from the ministry of defence that asserts that the controversial land at Kandivli belonged to them and no permission was given to hand over the plot.
Earlier, the southern army commander Lt Gen Pradeep Khanna, who reportedly conducted a preliminary inquiry into the alleged scam, found the involvement of many senior army officials, a few of whom are also accused in the Adarsh society fraud.
General VK Singh, the army chief, is reportedly conducting an internal probe into the matter.
