Maharashtra governor asks Lokayukta to probe approvals by housing minister

Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao today asked the state Lokayukta to investigate into the permissions granted by Housing Minister Prakash Mehta with regard to a slum rehabilitation scheme in Mumbai. According to a Raj Bhavan spokesperson, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had requested the governor to issue a direction to the Lokayukta to launch an investigation into the matter. “In a letter to the governor, the chief minister had stated that he had made a statement before both the Houses of state Legislature that in regard to the allegations against Prakash Mehta pertaining to the grant of permission in the Slum Rehabilitation Scheme, an inquiry would be entrusted to the Lokayukta of Maharashtra,” the spokesperson said. The scheme relates to rehabilitation of a slum at the M P Mill Compound in south Mumbai. The governor ordered investigation under sub-section (3) of section 17 of the Maharashtra Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayukta Act-1971, he said.