Showing posts with label Parag Masurkar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Parag Masurkar. Show all posts
2 days on, Arjun Kapoor's illegal gym shed still not razed
8:27 AM
Labour Shortage Delays Action At Arjun Kapoor Flat
Vijay V Singh (THE TIMES OF INDIA; January 1, 2017)
Municipal officials visited
actor Arjun Kapoor's residence on Saturday to resume demolition of the
unauthorized structure that functioned as his terrace gym. The work is
to continue on Monday. The municipal staff had first visited
Kapoor's seventh-floor flat in Raheja Orchid building, Juhu, on Friday to
begin the demolition of the 30-by-16 sq ft gym room made of bricks and
glass. After the actor's staff requested the municipal officials to let
them dismantle the gym in their presence, they were allowed to remove
the glass wall of the terrace.
On Saturday, the municipal staff again visited the flat to ensure removal of other unauthorized extensions, but they were unable to complete the task as they faced a shortage of labour. An official said that only the shed remained to be removed and the job would be completed on Monday. Kapoor was unavailable for comment.
“Once the entire structure is cleared from the terrace, we will calculate the charges for sending our staff to assist in the work,“ the K-West ward officer, assistant municipal commissioner Parag Masurkar, said. “Arjun Kapoor needs to pay the charges to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.“ The official said that the total charges for engaging municipal staff for three days would be around Rs 10,000.
Before the demolition, the BMC had sent notices to Kapoor stating that he had encroached on the terrace when he constructed the gym room without permission. An activist, who does not live in the building, had approached the BMC to complain about the room. The actor was sent a notice first in March, and another one a few days ago that asked him to allow municipal staff entry to his premises for the demolition.
Some time ago, the film actor's manager had approached ward officer Masurkar and sought more time, saying the irregularities would be regularized. As nothing happened after that, the BMC issued the latest notice that asked the actor to demolish the structure.
On Saturday, the municipal staff again visited the flat to ensure removal of other unauthorized extensions, but they were unable to complete the task as they faced a shortage of labour. An official said that only the shed remained to be removed and the job would be completed on Monday. Kapoor was unavailable for comment.
“Once the entire structure is cleared from the terrace, we will calculate the charges for sending our staff to assist in the work,“ the K-West ward officer, assistant municipal commissioner Parag Masurkar, said. “Arjun Kapoor needs to pay the charges to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.“ The official said that the total charges for engaging municipal staff for three days would be around Rs 10,000.
Before the demolition, the BMC had sent notices to Kapoor stating that he had encroached on the terrace when he constructed the gym room without permission. An activist, who does not live in the building, had approached the BMC to complain about the room. The actor was sent a notice first in March, and another one a few days ago that asked him to allow municipal staff entry to his premises for the demolition.
Some time ago, the film actor's manager had approached ward officer Masurkar and sought more time, saying the irregularities would be regularized. As nothing happened after that, the BMC issued the latest notice that asked the actor to demolish the structure.
FIR against Kapil Sharma likely after Ganeshotsav, cops tell BMC
11:30 AM
Civic Body Had Issued Notices On 'Irregularities' In Goregaon Flat
Richa Pinto (THE TIMES OF INDIA; September 11, 2016)
Comedian Kapil Sharma, who
kicked up a storm on Friday, claiming a BMC official had demanded a Rs 5
lakh bribe and tagged PM Narendra Modi to his tweet, was already in
trouble over his Goregaon flat, say civic officials.
On June 23, the civic body had lodged a complaint with Oshiwara police under the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act (MRTP) 1966, saying Sharma did not comply with its notices over unauthorized construction in the Goregaon flat. Oshiwara police, in turn, have assured the civic body of filing a panchnama and an FIR in the case after Ganeshotsav.
Sharma, who owns a flat on the ninth floor of DLH Enclave at Goregaon, was issued a notice this April for carrying out unauthorized work, including merger of the elevation features, ducts, voids, the common passage and a part of the podium for parking. The BMC issued a second notice on June 23 saying Sharma had not restored the flats to the original plan nor had he submitted a satisfactory reply to the earlier notice. It lodged a police complaint the same day.
In a statement to the media on Saturday over the Twitter controversy, Sharma said, “I have only expressed my concerns. However, it has taken the shape of an unnecessary controversy. My space is on the entertainment platform and not on the news platform. I am not a part of any political organization and nor do I intend to be. I have utmost respect for the honourable Prime Minister and the government, both Union and state, its agencies and statutory bodies. I am a law-abiding citizen and shall act as legally advised. This was my anger against corruption which I expressed on Twitter.“
The Samajwadi Party in the BMC, though, has accused Sharma of “double standards“. “Strict action needs to be taken against Sharma's property for unauthorized construction. We plan to raise the issue on all forums in the BMC. On one hand, he claims he was asked to pay bribes to the BMC for making an office (in his other Andheri property) and, on the other, he indulges in such large-scale unauthorized works,“ said Rais Shaikh, Samajwadi Party leader in the BMC.
Yuva Sena president Aaditya Thackeray had taken to Twitter on Friday to ask Sharma for details of the officer who had demanded the bribe “to drive out corruption“. Thackeray on Saturday said he had not pulled down the tweet, contrary to reports.
Sharma has also been facing scrutiny over his Andheri row house. On Saturday, the local ward officials reached the property to check for any irregularities; they had demolished a portion of the property over unauthorized construction on August 4.
The ward office also plans to write to the conservator of forests about “destruction of mangroves“ in the backyard of the property. “We had written to the forest department six months ago about complaints of destruction of mangroves in the area. We will now send them a reminder,“ said Parag Masurkar, assistant municipal commissioner, K-West Ward.
On Saturday, other than activist Nikitesh Chaubal, RTI activist Asad Patel, too, took up the mangroves issue.Patel made a written application to Versova police, demanding that an FIR be registered against Sharma for alleged destruction of mangroves at his Andheri office (row house). The application was made by Patel's lawyer on his behalf. On noticing that no legal action has been taken against Sharma, Patel dashed off an application to the cops, demanding that provisions of the Environment Protection Act, Forest Act, Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act and Indian Penal Code be invoked.
On June 23, the civic body had lodged a complaint with Oshiwara police under the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act (MRTP) 1966, saying Sharma did not comply with its notices over unauthorized construction in the Goregaon flat. Oshiwara police, in turn, have assured the civic body of filing a panchnama and an FIR in the case after Ganeshotsav.
Sharma, who owns a flat on the ninth floor of DLH Enclave at Goregaon, was issued a notice this April for carrying out unauthorized work, including merger of the elevation features, ducts, voids, the common passage and a part of the podium for parking. The BMC issued a second notice on June 23 saying Sharma had not restored the flats to the original plan nor had he submitted a satisfactory reply to the earlier notice. It lodged a police complaint the same day.
In a statement to the media on Saturday over the Twitter controversy, Sharma said, “I have only expressed my concerns. However, it has taken the shape of an unnecessary controversy. My space is on the entertainment platform and not on the news platform. I am not a part of any political organization and nor do I intend to be. I have utmost respect for the honourable Prime Minister and the government, both Union and state, its agencies and statutory bodies. I am a law-abiding citizen and shall act as legally advised. This was my anger against corruption which I expressed on Twitter.“
The Samajwadi Party in the BMC, though, has accused Sharma of “double standards“. “Strict action needs to be taken against Sharma's property for unauthorized construction. We plan to raise the issue on all forums in the BMC. On one hand, he claims he was asked to pay bribes to the BMC for making an office (in his other Andheri property) and, on the other, he indulges in such large-scale unauthorized works,“ said Rais Shaikh, Samajwadi Party leader in the BMC.
Yuva Sena president Aaditya Thackeray had taken to Twitter on Friday to ask Sharma for details of the officer who had demanded the bribe “to drive out corruption“. Thackeray on Saturday said he had not pulled down the tweet, contrary to reports.
Sharma has also been facing scrutiny over his Andheri row house. On Saturday, the local ward officials reached the property to check for any irregularities; they had demolished a portion of the property over unauthorized construction on August 4.
The ward office also plans to write to the conservator of forests about “destruction of mangroves“ in the backyard of the property. “We had written to the forest department six months ago about complaints of destruction of mangroves in the area. We will now send them a reminder,“ said Parag Masurkar, assistant municipal commissioner, K-West Ward.
On Saturday, other than activist Nikitesh Chaubal, RTI activist Asad Patel, too, took up the mangroves issue.Patel made a written application to Versova police, demanding that an FIR be registered against Sharma for alleged destruction of mangroves at his Andheri office (row house). The application was made by Patel's lawyer on his behalf. On noticing that no legal action has been taken against Sharma, Patel dashed off an application to the cops, demanding that provisions of the Environment Protection Act, Forest Act, Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act and Indian Penal Code be invoked.
BMC calls Kapil Sharma's bluff after his tweet to Narendra Modi
8:10 AM
After Kapil sharma goes on a Twitter rant against PM Modi about being asked for aR5lakh bribe from BMC, civic body releases illegal construction notices sent to the comedian; politicos join slugfest
Varun Singh (MID-DAY; September 10, 2016)
After comedian Kapil sharma created a stir on Twitter yesterday morning when he alleged that BMC was demanding a Rs 5 lakh bribe from him, the civic body did not waste time in firing salvos at him either. BMC officials released two letters from July, when they had issued a notice to Sharma for carrying out illegal construction.
The BMC had sent the notice to Sharma on July 16 and even carried out a demolition on august 4. Confirming the same, assistant Municipal Commissioner of K-West ward (Andheri), Parag Masurkar said, “We had issued a notice on July 16 after finding illegal activities going on in the bungalow. Since Sharma did not comply with our norms, we had carried demolition of illegal extensions on August 4.”
Bribe accusations probed
As for Sharma’s corruption allegations, the BMC is also carrying out an investigation. Chief Engineer of Vigilance Department, Manohar Pawar said, “We have taken note of Sharma's complaint. We have asked details of the person who was demanding the bribe from Sharma. After Sharma will provide details, we will inquire into the matter and take action against the culprit.”
DCP (Cyber) Sachin Patil said, “BJP MLA Ram Kadam gave a complaint at the cyber police station, requesting probe in the allegations levelled by Sharma on Twitter against unknown BMC officials who asked him for a bribe. Since the matter comes under the purview of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), we are transferring this case to the ACB.”
Political slugfest begins
Even as an inquiry is yet to ascertain the truth, politicians across party lines have already picked sides. While the Chief Minister was prompt in responding to Sharma’s tweet and has ordered an inquiry, the opposition is calling the BMC a corrupt organisation and blaming Sena-BJP for it.
Meanwhile, the ruling sena-BJP alliance in the civic body is releasing letters and other documents on Sharma. Congress leader Nitesh Rane wore a mask of Sharma’s face and uploaded a video in which he said that problems faced by this person are being heard by the government, so he is wearing the mask and speaking out about his troubles. He also tweeted, “What’s the use of reacting to 1 Kapil sharma. There are many Kapil Sharmas in Mumbai who face the same trouble with the BMC every day, act on them too or its just another show of Comedy Nights with Devendra Fadnavis and Uddhav Thackeray.”
BMC leaders pitch in
Even leaders in the BMC didn’t let go of the opportunity. Rais Shaikh, Group Leader, Samajwadi Party said, “Shame that people have to go through this. BMC should contact Sharma and take details for action.” Then, Sanjay Nirupam, Mumbai Congress Chief, said, “Shiv Sena-BJP ruled BMC is the most corrupt municipality in the world. Nothing works here without a bribe.”
After the allegations of illegal extensions came up, Nirupam sided with Sharma further and said, “Why only Kapil Sharma’s house, illegal constructions exist in CM’s official bungalow and BMC headquarters too. The Maharashtra BJP office is illegal.”
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