Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has curtailed the powers of housing minister Prakash Mehta recently while overruling the objections of the landlords in the slum rehabilitation projects. According to the sources in the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), earlier while undertaking the SRA projects after obtaining the majority consent of tenants, if the landlords blocked a project by denying consent, the housing was entrusted with power to overrule it or acquire the land without the landlord's permission.
However, a source on condition of anonymity has confirmed to DNA that this power will be only with the CEO of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority ( SRA) who is an IAS officer. When DNA got in touch with Mehta, he claimed that he overruled the objections, adding that it was always the department who did the groundwork from preparing the file to administering the project.