Mumbai: TC MP blames scam in another defence land

After blowing the lid off the Adarsh Housing Society scam in Mumbai, Trinamool Congress MP Ambica Banerjee has now alleged that another defence land in the metropolis was given away to a private pharma company through a NOC from the army.

In letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Defence Minister A K Antony, Banerjee has also named former army chief General Deepak Kapoor and former army's Mumbai area chief Maj Gen R K Hooda, as being the beneficiaries of the land transfer in Malad and Kandivili areas of Mumbai.

This time, the MP said, the land was under the control of the Central Ordnance Depot of the defence ministry within the army's Mumbai, Goa and Gujarat (MG and G) Area, but the local officers colluded with the Mumbai municipal officials to issue a no-objection certificate for the pharma company to construct a commercial building.

"Approximately one year back, few officers of the MG and G Area and COD, with concurrence of senior officers posted to MG and G Area and Delhi along with BMC officials facilitated occupation of the defence land by a business group," he said in the letter dated November 10.

The NOC, the MP claimed, was issued to the BMC stating that the piece of land was not army land and after the NOC was issued, the BMC allowed the pharma company to carry out construction there.

"The modus operandi to grab defence land was to seek NOC from army on particular piece of land and then with the help of BMC, officials start construction on that land," Banerjee said.

"As I am told that (sic) for this assistance, people involved got flats in Mumbai from the company. As of now my reliable sources has confirmed that the then GOC Maj Gen R K Hooda and former Chief of Army Staff Gen Deepak Kapoor where (sic) the main beneficiary (sic) of the deal," Banerjee's letter said.

He also demanded an investigation into the Malad and Kandivili land issues too from the defence ministry. In the Adarsh Housing Society issue, Banerjee had written similar letters to Singh and Antony, following which investigations followed.

Later, the defence ministry recommended a CBI probe in the Adarsh Housing Society episode. It had also come to light that Gen Kapoor along with another former army chief Gen N C Vij and former navy chief Admiral Madhavendra Singh had obtained flats in Adarsh Society in upscale Colaba area.

They promptly returned the allocation after it was known that the society promised flats to Kargil widows and martyrs' families for obtaining permission to construct the 31-storey, 104-apartment building.