Thaindian News

New Delhi, May 15 (IANS) A day after reports that files linked to Adarsh Housing Society scam had been found missing from the environment and forests ministry here by the Central Bureau of Investigation, the investigating agency Sunday clarified that the ministry and Maharashtra government were tracing documents not readily available with them.

“In connection with the investigation relating to the Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society, Mumbai, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and other Central and State Government Departments are co-operating on all issues, and, re-structuring documents/files which may not be readily available with them,” the CBI said in a statement.

CBI found the files missing from the ministry even as it is working on a case of files missing from Maharashtra’s urban development department.

The missing files are believed to have contained letters establishing correspondence between the ministry and the state regarding Coastal Regulation Zone norms.

In November last year, key files regarding clearances granted to the Adarsh society had gone missing from the urban development department of the Maharashtra government.

The papers included remarks of the state government officials. The disappearance of the files was brought to the notice of the CBI.

The CBI statement said that the agency had registered a case on Jan 29 against 13 accused belonging to army, the Defence Estates Office, the Maharashtra government, public servants and unknown people in connection with the Adarsh investigations.

The statement said another case relating to a missing file was also registered wherein the notesheet of the file belonging to the state urban development department was found missing.

“In this case, arrests were also made to trace the documents and identify the culprit who had removed the notesheet from the file. The case was registered on the direction of Hon’ble High Court of Bombay. Further investigation is continuing,” the statement said.

The 31-storey Adarsh Housing Society apartment block in south Mumbai’s Colaba area was meant for Kargil heroes and war widows, but flats were given to bureaucrats, relatives of politicians and former army and navy chiefs. It was also built flouting environmental norms.