This has been written by a Retired Colonel . . . . . .The method of Adarsh
Cooperative Housing Society cheats of Mumbai was disarmingly simple. They
simply co-opted in their scam whoever looked like standing in the way. If we
judge the strategy by its results, it was spectacularly successful. It indeed
disarmed everybody. From just 30-odd members, the eventual group grew to more
than a hundred. Each new entrant not only removed a roadblock on the way but
also increased the size of the cake. Thus, someone got the land title, someone
the extra FSI. Someone got clearances, someone else made the Army and the Navy
objections softer. They all became members.The scary bit about the scam is not
that it happened. It is that in the entire chain, there was not one man (or
woman) who refused to compromise himself. There was not one person whose
integrity stood its ground in face of temptation. Right from the lowly
collector, to the officials in urban development department and MMRDA, to
the ministers and chief minister, everybody proved over-eager to do his bit.
About the bureaucrats and the ministers, we always knew. The really sickening
part is that it went on all the way to at least three service chiefs. They all
sold their souls. No whistle-blower in the entire system. Nobody thought
something very gross was under way and he should put his foot down.And for
what? A sea-facing apartment in Mumbai, worth perhaps Rs 8 crore. So there,
folks, you have the price of this country. For a combined booty of no more than
Rs 800 crore, you could buy the entire system. Our enemies reading about this
can now rest their weapons. The message they get is that if they face the
mighty Indian Army they only need to wave the allotment letters of a plush
apartment.And lo! The battle is won. If the chiefs go for 1000 sq ft of Mumbai
real estate, how much should the poor battlefield commander go for? A Shanghai
penthouse, or a cottage in Murree?I would hate to be a soldier in
our armed forces at this moment. The fellow has just seen Lt Generals being
prosecuted for land scam. Now, an admiral and two generals are part of a
housing scam. He is expected to die on their orders. If, after this, a soldier
winces at such an order, can he be faulted? The former chiefs have now
graciously offered to return the flats, professing ignorance about the fact
that land was meant for martyrs' families. As if that is the only thing wrong
about the deal. It was stinking from start to finish and if the chiefs could
not smell any of it, the forces have a lot to answer for the kind of persons
they select for their top most posts.No, gentlemen, you have let down the proud
institutions you headed. You have let down your colleagues who must suffer the
suspicions you have aroused. You have let down your country that decorated you
so much. Worst of all, you have let down that soldier who saluted you day in
and day out. You owe him an apology, not just a glib explanation. A
bout others, the less said the better. They occupy some of the most plum posts
and yet possess all the integrity of a pickpocket. It is no wonder India has
climbed further in corruption ladder. Merely dispossessing these scamsters of
their ill-gotten apartment would be no punishment. They need to be dismissed
from service and prosecuted for being unworthy custodians of our
trust......Sochlo ?Rajaram Bojji M.Tech. IRSE (Retd.), FIE, FNAE, AMASCE Fmr.
MD Konkan Railway /Min. of Railways India"Income & wealth are two different
things,NEVER mistake one with the other,but each should create the other."
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