The Central Bureau of Investigation arrested two top bureaucrats, former Maharashtra information commissioner Ramanand Tiwari and former municipal commissioner Jairaj Phatak on Tuesday for their alleged role in the Adarsh Housing society scam. The arrest was made at around 6 pm and both the accused will be produced in the sessions court on Wednesday. A total of nine persons have been arrested in the case so far.
The Maharashtra government, pending further investigations had suspended Mr Phatak and another serving IAS officer Pradeep Vyas after their name surfaced amongst the other suspected government officials when the scam came to light. According to the FIR filed on January 29, Mr Pathak, during his tenure as the BMC commissioner allegedly approved the height of the Adarsh building to be increased to 107 metres from 97 metres on September 1, 2007 without the mandatory approval from the high-rise committee. In a quid pro quo arrangement, his son Kanishk Phatak owns a flat in the society. Phatak is a 1978 batch IAS officer and one of the fourteen accused in the case.
Tiwari, a 1972 batch IAS officer allegedly allowed the transfer of the Floor Space Index (FSI) from a land belonging to the Brihanmumbai Electrical Supply and Transport (BEST) to the society. He is also accused of misguiding the MMRDA on various issues related to the disputed plot.
Former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan lost his post when the scam came to light in 2010. The 104 apartment building was originally meant for the kith and kin of the Kargil war heroes but later had several flats owned by top bureaucrats, politicians and retired Army officers. The politicians and bureaucrats allegedly colluded with the accused for the building to come up.
The total number of the arrests in the case has now reached 9 after Pathak and Tiwari. The other seven arrested are former MLC K.L. Gidwani, former bureaucrat Prad-eep Vyas, former army officers Major General T.K. Kaul, Maj. Gen. A.R. Kumar, Brigadier M.M. Wanchoo, retired defence estates officer R.C. Thakur and former deputy secretary in the urban development department P.V. Deshmukh.