A former chief of the Mumbai-based Western naval command already owned a concessional flat at Jal Vayu Vihar at Powai when he became a member of the controversial Adarsh housing society. This was revealed in response to a query on Adarsh under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. It was filed by Mumbai Citizens’ Group, an NGO.
Government regulations say it is illegal for a government servant to own more than one flat in a concessional society in a city. Vice admiral (retired) Madanjit Singh joins the ranks of senior bureaucrats such as MCGM commissioner Jairaj Phatak who, along with his family, had benefited from subsidized flats elsewhere in Mumbai. Singh owned an over 1,000 square-foot flat in Jal Vayu Vihar, an air force naval housing colony at Powai, from 1998 to 2004, when he sold the property. However, in 2003, while serving as flag officer commanding in chief, Western naval command, he became a member of Adarsh society.
Vice admiral Singh refused to comment on the issue. In an sms response, he said the Powai flat was sold before he became a member in Adarsh. Information and documents gleaned via the RTI and available with TOI, though, point to the contrary. Singh’s name appears in the list of 95 members submitted by the society to the city collector as far back as March 15, 2003. In another letter written by the society on March 11, 2004, to the collector, Singh’s name appears as a beneficiary. Though in this letter, he is shown as replacing Aditya Kumar, a senior defence estate officer.
Interestingly, in his letter to the Adarsh society dated December 9, 2003, Singh had shown Navy House, the C-in-C’s official residence near Lion’s Gate, as his proof of residence. Sources say Singh may have realized that there had been a violation and in an effort to prevent an inquiry, had been requesting Jyoti Dabir, to whom he sold the flat, to give a letter backdating the sale. Dabir, though, refused to comment on the issue.
-via The Times of India
