New Delhi: With several armed forces officers being investigated in the Adarsh Housing Society scam in Mumbai, Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma has said all wrongdoers in the episode will be brought to justice and the
government was taking requisite steps in this regard.
"Insofar as the Adarsh Society scam is concerned, the
requisite steps are being taken by the government and I am
sure that any wrongdoer will be brought to justice," Verma
said in an interview to the Defence Ministry`s official
fortnightly `Sanik Samachar`.
He said the armed forces have always demanded the highest
standards of integrity and conduct from their personnel.
"Any incident, which smudges an officer`s integrity,
invariably has an impact on the morale of the men. As such, I
have always demanded the highest standards of honesty and
integrity from all men under my command," Verma said in his
first comments on the Adarsh scam.
After the alleged involvement of both serving and retired
officers from the Army and the Defence Estates department in
awarding a no-objection certificate to the private society to
build the 31-storey complex on defence land came out, the
Defence Ministry had entrusted the investigation on their role
to the CBI this month.
The 103-apartment society in upscale Colaba had also
allotted flats to retired Army Chiefs General Deepak Kapoor
and General NC Vij, apart from retired Navy Chief Admiral
Madhavendra Singh, former Union minister Suresh Prabhu and
relatives of former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan.
On Chinese Navy`s forays into the Indian Ocean region,
Verma said it was directed at safeguarding its national
interests, as China`s substantial trade such as oil, natural
resources and markets for finished goods come from here.
He said Peoples Liberation Army (Navy) had sent its
warships to Gulf of Aden on a call from the United Nations to
combat piracy.
"The 21st Century is characterised by common maritime
threats. Since oceans do not represent national boundaries,
such threats need to be countered with a concerted effort from
all seafaring nations...Let me assure you, Navy...is adept at
meeting any challenge that we may encounter in the present and
the future," he added.
On the challenges the Navy faced today, he said there was
a need to strengthen synergy among various stakeholders in
ensuring maritime security.
"Expeditious implementation of a national-level network
enabling maritime domain awareness is a high-priority area,"
he said.
The interview is part of the coming issue of the official
organ for the fortnight beginning December 1 to mark the Navy
Day falling on December 4.
PTI
