Mumbai, Aug 5 (TOI): The opposition on Friday dragged in the names of housing minister Prakash Mehta's son, wife and other relatives in fresh allegations that it made against him on the floor of the House.
Opposition leader in the assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said Prakash Mehta in 2008 had been additional director of a firm called Sai Nidhi Pvt Ltd. This firm owns two parcels of land admeasuring 58,520 sq ft and 18,770 sq ft in Ghatkopar. "Two new buildings, Laxmi Bhuvan and Gopal Bhuvan, have been constructed on these plots. The building names are of the old chawls that were on these plots. Harsh Mehta (the minister's son) and other relatives have been shown as tenants and been given flats in these buildings, though the original tenants are yet to be rehabilitated," he alleged.
Vikhe-Patil alleged that Mehta's close friend and business associate Mukesh Doshi's son Kaushal is among the beneficiaries who have been granted a Letter of Intent by fraudulent means for an SRA scheme by former CEO Vishwas Patil. Mukesh Doshi is a senior director with Sai Nidhi and is frequently seen with Mehta in the Vidhan Bhavan, he alleged.
The opposition leader further alleged that Mehta manipulated an FIR so that his wife did not figure in it. "Mehta's wife owns flat no 403 in Samyak Darshan, Kirol, Ghatkopar. The building owner Pravinchandra Shah also resides in the same building. Mehta has a dispute with the builder and so in March 2016, through a junior BMC engineer, he lodged an FIR with Pantnagar police against the developer and all flat-owners for carrying out illegal construction. To save his wife, he pressurised the police and changed the name in the FIR from Kishori to Kishore Mehta," he said.
Earlier in the day, Nationalist Congress Party legislator Ajit Pawar moved a motion demanding adjournment of question hour to discuss Mehta's alleged corruption. While the speaker refused permission, the opposition did not allow the House to function.