Ravindra Waikar faces charges of land-grabbing

City Cong chief Nirupam wants CM to order a probe; demands minister’s resignation.

The Congress on Tuesday alleged that Shiv Sena leader and minister of state for housing Ravindra Waikar had illegally obtained permissions from the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) to construct on nearly 3.5 lakh square feet of saleable area, expected to be worth Rs 1,000 crore. The party has sought Mr Waikar’s resignation until such time a probe was ordered and completed.

Congress Mumbai chief Sanjay Nirupam claimed that the minister was directly involved in six projects at Jogeshwari and Andheri where SRA officials had bent the rules for his firms to obtain necessary permissions. Mr Nirupam said that Aishwarya Vijayalaxmi, Aishwarya Light Construction Company, and Aishwarya Avant Builders were the three companies that had illegally obtained permissions for SRA projects in Jogeshwari and Andheri, in which Mr Waikar had stakes. The Congress leader claimed that Mr Waikar had illegally obtained permissions near Jogeshwari caves where no development was allowed within a radius of 100 metre owing to restrictions placed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). “All other projects are stuck except for the ones where Mr Waikar is a partner, which are getting permissions readily,” Mr Nirupam said.

Mr Waikar, however, said, “I deny any wrongdoings and all allegations against me are baseless. I will return to Mumbai and expose Mr Nirupam. He is spreading false information.”

Mr Waikar further claimed that he had resigned from Aishwarya Light Construction Company in 2011, but Mr Nirupam rubbished his claim, saying, “In the affidavit filed by Mr Waikar before the 2014 state Assembly elections, he claimed to be a partner of the firms. He is lying and trying to hide things”.

Mr Nirupam has requested Mr Fadnavis to order a comprehensive probe into the allegations. “Mr Waikar has been putting pressure on SRA officials and he should resign till the probe is ordered and completed. The SRA officials who are involved in wrongdoings should also be punished,” he said.