Mumbai: One of the chief promoters of the
controversial Adarsh Society and former Congress MLC
Kanhaiyalal Gidwani on Tuesday told a judicial panel that his
"relations" with ministers and bureaucrats in the Maharashtra
government helped in allotment of the plot for the high-rise.
"In 1999 I was not MLC but an active member of the Shiv
Sena which was then in power. It will not be incorrect to say
that my good relations with ministers and bureaucrats helped
allotment of plot to Adarsh society," Gidwani told a
two-member inquiry commission.
He also admitted he was aware that the land was in
possession of the local military authority.
"I was not asked by Brig M M Wanchoo or Adarsh Society
promoter R C Thakur to use my good relations with the Ministry
of Defence. I did not write any letter to the defence ministry
in connection with the possession of the land," he said.
Wanchoo and R C Thakur are also accused in the case.
He, however, claimed that he was unaware that the
proposed society was being built to accommodate only the
family members of Kargil war martyrs and widows.
Gidwani, who along with his two sons - Kailash and Amit -
owns three flats in the 31-storey building in south Mumbai,
said he was approached by Thakur and Wanchoo after a plot near
Oyster and Dolphin building in Colaba was first selected for
constructing the high-rise.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, August 17, 2011, 00:42