The Maharashtra government on Thursday transferred the forest department official probing the destruction of mangroves outside TV actor Kapil Sharma’s bungalow in Mumbai’s Andheri West area.
Makarand Ghodke, who was previously the assistant conservator of forest in the state’s mangrove cell, is now deputed to the Chief Conservator of Forest in Thane.
On September 20, Sharma was booked by the Mumbai Police for destroying mangroves behind his bungalow in Versova. According to the police, the comedian-actor had bought bungalow number 71 in MHADA colony in Andheri West last year. the mangrove cell inspected around 400 bungalows in the area and it was found that the residents of 50 bungalows had destroyed them.
Sharma had stoked controversy after he tweeted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, questioning where are ‘achche din’, and alleged that he was asked for a Rs5 lakh bribe by a BMC official to get permit for building his office. the civic body retorted to his allegations stating that the actor had constructed a second floor without getting necessary clearances and hence it was demolished after he failed to produce the permit.
Later he clarified by saying that his grudge was against corruption and he did not intend to target any political party.
In another case, Sharma on October 17 moved the Bombay High Court granted him an interim relief as it stayed the BMC order of demolishing illegal structures in his Goregaon flat till November 23. Sharma had booked the flat in 2010.
