India, Feb. 14 -- Forest minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ganesh Naik on Thursday bypassed standard administrative hierarchy and decreed that in Navi Mumbai, no redevelopment project or demolition - even of officially dangerous buildings - can proceed without his explicit consent.

Addressing citizens and top officials including Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) commissioner Kailas Shinde at a charged Janta Darbar (grievance redressal meeting) at Vashi's Vishnudas Bhave Auditorium, the forest minister alleged that plots reserved for public amenities in prime locations were being handed over to private builders by certain officials who were manipulating rules for personal gain.

"I am ashamed to be in a cabine...