Lokayukta Justice (retired) ML Tahaliyani is hearing the case about large-scale dumping of debris in a plot adjacent to Saraswati building at Anand Nagar, Dahisar, which had large swathes of mangroves that were not only destroyed but the land was also reclaimed and rented out to park private buses.
There could be a lot of trouble brewing for the policemen from Dahisar police station, who were pulled up yet again during the second hearing of the state Lokayukta. The Lokayukta was clearly unhappy with the way investigation pertaining to destruction of mangroves at Dahisar was being conducted.
Lokayukta Justice (retired) ML Tahaliyani is hearing the case about large-scale dumping of debris in a plot adjacent to Saraswati building at Anand Nagar, Dahisar, which had large swathes of mangroves that were not only destroyed but the land was also reclaimed and rented out to park private buses.
During the second hearing of the case on June 3, the Lokayukta, expressing his displeasure over the work of police, stated: "The investigation is not proceeding in the manner wanted by the Lokayukta. There has been no further arrest except land owner Santosh Dhavne and even the dumpers and the other equipment used for dumping debris have not been seized by police."
His report also makes a mention that Suresh Sahane, the investigating officer of Dahisar police station, undertook that he would be carrying out the investigation aggressively and will seize the dumpers used for dumping on the spot.
In fact, during his first hearing on May 20, the Lokayukta had specifically asked the cops from Dahisar police station to not only arrest the 'owner' of the land, but also seize the dumpers and other lorries used for dumping debris. And, if felt necessary, examine the culpability of drivers and arrest them as well.
Meanwhile, the Lokayukta, who in the earlier hearing had asked cops to take action against Reliance Energy for providing power connection to the plot gave a major reprieve during Friday's hearing. "Reliance officials have informed that the electricity supply to CTS number 1517 has been disconnected so in view of the action taken by Reliance the Police shall not take any action against Reliance or its officials," stated the order.
A Reliance Energy spokesperson said, "Reliance Energy is under statutory obligation to provide electric connection to any applicant who is applying with all the required documents, as per the Electricity Act 2003. In this particular case, the applicant had submitted the application with all the required documents along with permission from BMC for permission to dig and retain tubewell," The spokesperson added that after they received a letter from BMC on May 30, 2016 and the direction of Lokayukta they disconnected the electric supply on May 31.
Activist Harish Pandey, who is the complainant in this matter, said that it was shocking to find that the cops from Dahisar police station were not even following the direction of the Lokayukta. "We have always doubted that there was some kind of connivance that led to inaction by the Dahisar police and hence we even wrote to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 12 in November 2015 informing him how in spite of BMC issuing an MRTP notice against the land owner the cops did not register an FIR for six months," he said adding that this dereliction of duty by cops had caused so much environmental damage.
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