PANJIM: In what could spell further trouble for former chief minister Digambar Kamat, whose anticipatory bail in the illegal condonation of delay is being heard in the Special Court, Goa’s former Principal Mines Secretary Rajiv Yaduvanshi has stated that Kamat “personally approved the files”.
In his statement recorded before the magistrate last month, the IAS officer recalled that there were more than 40 mining cases for which condonation of delay was sought.
What’s interesting is that, then Mines Directors J Bhingui and Arvind Lolienkar (also former Joint Secretary Mines) had ‘advised’ Yaduvanshi that the decision taking authority was the government in respect to extension and that Directors Mines/Joint Secretary Mines had to only put up a noting on these files that read as “submitted for consideration and decision of government”.
“I merely signed after the said noting in order to enable files to be moved to the concerned minister because as per procedure the files were routed through me. The case in which this happened are bearing TC No. 12/53 wherein A T D’Souza quoted on October 5, 2006, ‘In view of the above and considering the decision in case of Antonio David D’Souza the proposal of Ajit Kadnekar to consider of delay of the application is submitted for consideration and decision of the government,” Yaduvanshi said in the statement recorded under Section 164 of the CrPC, relevant copies of which have been submitted to the Court this week and extracts of which has been accessed by this reporter.
The officer, currently Principal Health Secretary in the Delhi Government, said that Kamat had given instructions to Antonio D’Souza, in the presence of Yaduvanshi, to put up the files proposing condonation of delay in filing the application for renewal of mining lease holders as well as their power of attorney holders and other files relating to mining leases ‘by twisting/misinterpreting the law’.
In another case, Yaduvanshi stated that he advised Kamat, who was also Mines Minister, that it was inappropriate to grant extension to mining leases of Shantilal Kushaldas in TC No. 27/58 but it was not heeded to. “He (Kamat) said it was within his power and most of the hearings were held in the office of Kamat. There more than 40 mining cases for which condonation of delay was sought,” he added claiming that one R A Verlekar (then OSD to Kamat) would hold the files ‘in his custody’.
The 1989-IAS batch officer has denied his involvement in the illegalities claiming he has ‘no role to play and I have never sat in the CM office to clear the files’.
