BMC registers FIR against Kapil Sharma

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on Monday registered a first information report (FIR) against comedian Kapil Sharma with the Oshiwara police, accusing him of carrying out unauthorised structural changes inside his apartment located in Goregaon village. Meanwhile, officials from the forest department visited Mr Sharma’s bungalow in Versova on Monday. Following complaints from city-based activists that Mr Sharma’s bungalow had led to several mangroves being damaged, it has come to light that several other houses on the same street have also encroached upon the mangroves in their backyard.

Primary investigations conducted by the forest department reveal that bungalows along the creek have all illegally encroached upon the mangroves in their backyard. However, the identity of the owners of these bungalows is yet to be revealed. Assistant conservator of forests Makarand Ghodke said, “We have conducted primary investigations, which reveal that mangroves space of 10 metres by 6 metres has been tampered with. The owner of the bungalow has also built an illegal compound wall behind the bungalow, and this portion is not reflected in the original plot allotted to him. We will submit our findings to the collector and Sharma will be booked under the environment protection Act.”

Chief conservator of forests N Vasudevan said, “This is only our primary investigation. We used GPS (global positioning system) for this survey. We will now compile a report of our findings and submit it to the collector.” Meanwhile, in the FIR registered against Mr Sharma, five other residents of DLH Enclave, including Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan, have also been accused of violating provisions of the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act (MRTP).

The forest department was acting on an initial complaint made by activist Godfrey Pimenta, who heads the NGO Watchdog Foundation. Mr Pimenta had submitted two satellite images to the authorities, one recorded in 2001 and the other in 2013, which pointed to the extent of encroachments on mangrove land.

Watchdog Foundation’s co-founder, Nicholas Almeida, said, “We have urged the collector to take immediate action. Failing this, we will move the National Green Tribunal in this matter. We will ensure that those who spoil the environment are not saved.”