MLA serves defamation notice to Thane civic chief for graft charges

A Thane legislator has issued a Rs 100 crore defamation notice to civic commissioner RA Rajeev for alleging that the MLA's construction firm had acquired an illegal water collection.

A Thane legislator has issued a Rs 100 crore defamation notice to civic commissioner RA Rajeev for alleging that the MLA's construction firm had acquired an illegal water collection.

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The Thane Municipal Corporation had filed a water theft case against the office bearers of MLA Pratap Sarnaik's Vihang Infrastructure Pvt Ltd on October 25 at the Kasarwadavli police station. The commissioner said that the company was using much more water than permitted for the Vihang Valley complex off Ghodbunder Road.

"We had permitted six connections, each one inch in diameter, from our main 250-mm pipeline. However, by increasing the diameter of the pipes, the company is drawing 1.69 lakh litres of water daily, instead of the 15,000 litres permitted by the TMC," Rajeev said to Hindustan Times.

Sarnaik however claimed that the water connections were laid after getting all required NOCs and permissions from the water department.

"We have all the required documents to prove that the connections are legal. The allegation of the corporation has tarnished our company's image and thus we have served a defamation notice to the commissioner," he said.