Mumbai Defence Estates office faces extortion charge

NEW DELHI, Jun 26 (Agencies): The Defence Ministry is caught in a piquant situation with its Estates Directorate in Mumbai facing allegations of "demanding bribes" for handing over flats, hired by it for accommodating Navy personnel in the port city, back to the owners.

The 28 flats, hired by the Ministry over half-a-century ago in prime localities such as Churchgate and Sion, are at present in a state of disuse.

"Yet, the Defence Estates Officers in Mumbai are demanding large sums of money - running into lakhs - for vacating the dilapidated flats that the Navy has been occupying for several decades now," Nilesh Mistry, one of the affected flat owners from Churchgate's Vasant Sagar Apartments, told PTI.

Defence Estates Office (DEO), Mumbai had hired the flats for a paltry sum as rent five decades ago.

Though the apartment building was old, it was still worth several crores of rupees in today's Mumbai real estate market and hence the 'exit money' demand from the DEO officers, Mistry alleged.

Defence Minister A K Antony had already directed the Defence Estates Directorate headquarters in Delhi to vacate the flats that were inspected by the Ministry officials recently and declared "uninhabitable." When contacted, a top Defence Estates Directorate officer, requesting anonimity, said: "This kind of a situation (extortion to vacate the flats) should not have happened.

"The MOD is certainly seized of the matter and has, as recently as June 24, sent another reminder to the DEO Mumbai to return the flats to the owners before July 2 and submit an action taken report forthwith," the official said.

Ministry, who represents the affected flat owners and is pursuing the vacation process with the Defence Estates Directorate, alleged that the Mumbai Defence Estates officers "seem to be working hand-in-hand with a real estate mafia and are refusing to vacate the flats." Though the apartments were in the possession of its office in Mumbai, Defence Estate Directorate sources here said the flats were currently vacant, but "kept under lock and key" for several years now.

Despite the Directorate headquarters communicating the decision of Antony to its Mumbai office, the officers there have been allegedly delaying the return of the flats to its owners, Ministry claimed.

"The Defence Minister has approved the dehiring of the 28 flats...In the seniority list.

The Defence Estate Office (DEO) Mumbai may please be directed to convey the decision of the MOD to Western Naval Command headquarters and take necessary action urgently on the above," the official communication from the Directorate headquarters to its Principal Director in the Southern Army Command Headquarters at Pune said.

The communication, sent on June 3 this year, also informed its Principal Director that its office in Mumbai should be directed to forward compliance report on it immediately, as the same had to be intimated to the MOD.

"Please accord priority," the communication emphasized.

Buddhadeb felicitates 53 poor and meritorious students KOLKATA, JUN 25 (Agencies): Altogether 53 poor and meritorious students of class-X and XII standard were today felicitated by West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee for achieving good results.

The chief minister gave each if them Rs 5,000 for for admission into higher classes.

Felicitating the students at the state secretariat the chief minister urged them to be sincere in their studies.

"If required more financial assistance will be given for higher studies," Bhattacharjee assured them.