FIR lodged against comedian Kapil Sharma for destroying mangroves near Versova residence

An FIR has been lodged against comedian Kapil Sharma for carrying out illegal construction of his office at his Versova residence and for destroying mangroves in the process. [caption id=“attachment_3056530” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Kapil Sharma. Image from IBN Live[/caption] News 18 reports that the actor has been booked under the Environment Protection Act, 1986 for carrying out construction in a mangroves buffer zone. Sharma resides in Sardar Vallabbhai Patel Nagar in Versova which is in the Coastal Regulation Zone II area and hence, Sharma violated the act by initiating further construction in the area. The Times of India reports that he has also been booked under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act 1966 for the same offense. He violated the Coastal Region Zone rules on three counts. Firstly, he carried out construction without the approval of the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority. Secondly, he effected illegal change of use by converting a residential premises into a commercial office. Finally, as stated earlier, he carried out construction within the 50-meter mangrove buffer zone. A report by The Indian Express states that he has also been booked under a third act in the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The offence he has been booked under the IPC is that he failed to report to the Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau that a public servant had demanded bribe from him for undertaking construction in the area. Earlier this year, Sharma had tweeted that he has been asked to pay Rs 5 lakh by an official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for regularising the construction of his office. He had also tagged the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his tweet, escalating the issue in the process. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had asked Sharma to name the BMC official and file an official complaint with the Anti-Corruption Bureau but Sharma has failed to do so yet. The comedian has not issued a statement on the matter so far.