'Adarsh in defence ministry's possession in 2004'

Former city collector Pradeep Vyas on Saturday told the judicial panel probing the Adarsh Housing Society scam that the corrigendum issued by Maharashtra government on the ownership and possession of the land on which the society stands, was "factually incorrect". He also conceded that the land was in defence ministry's possession then, contrary to the corrigendum.

Sushil Kumar Shinde, currently a Union minister, was then the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

The government, on August 16, 2004, had issued a corrigendum to a Government Resolution of July 9, deleting the words "possession is with the defence department". The GR was regarding the ownership and possession status of the land.

One of the serious allegations in the Adarsh scam is that the government sanctioned construction of building on defence land. "The corrigendum is factually incorrect. I had written a letter to the government on August 10, 2004, saying that defence was in possession of the land but ownership is of the state government. I, however, did not tell the government that the amendment of the GR was wrong," Vyas said.

The former collector, one of the accused in the case registered by the Centra Bureau of Investigation, further said the amendment was carried out at the request of the promoter of Adarsh Society.

"It is true that at the time of the GR, the land was not in the possession of the state government. There was no document of title with the Government of Maharashtra," Vyas said.