Delhi: Officials of pollution control panel booked for corruption for slashing fines amounting to Rs 6 crore on pollution units

Two members of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) on Monday came under the scanner of the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) for allegedly reducing fines imposed on several polluting units.

The FIR identifies DPCC officials Anwar Ali, Senior Environment Engineer, and Sanjay Vatts, Environment Engineer. Additionally, two private individuals, Shubham Yadav, the landlord of the polluting unit, and Pankaj Bhushan, the proprietor, are also named in the report.

According to the complainant, Varun Gulati, seven jeans dyeing units were flagged in an earlier complaint regarding pollution violations, with one unit being fined Rs 91.25 lakh by the National Green Tribunal (NGT). Gulati had initially lodged the complaint on July 29, 2019, which led to a probe by the DPCC. The investigation found that the seven dyeing units were responsible for significant pollution, and the action taken report stated that they owed Rs 6 crore in fines to the pollution control body.

“I have filed an OA in NGT on 21st July 2019, in which I have mentioned a few industries causing harm to the environment. The Honourable NGT ordered a probe into the matter and asked DPCC to inspect the issue and file an action taken report. In the report filed by DPCC on 12/10/2019, annexed along as annexure-1, it was mentioned that 7 jeans dyeing units were fined under the polluter pays principle to Rs. 6,00,00,000. In the action taken report, a polluting unit named Pankaj Bhushan was fined Rs. 91.25 lakhs, and a copy of the EDC, annexed as annexure-2, states that the unit was operating there for the last 1 year,” the FIR mentions.

However, an RTI reply in August 2020 revealed that the DPCC had reduced the total recovery amount to just Rs 2.25 lakh. The pollution control body stated that the fine was reduced due to a rent agreement submitted by the proprietor, which claimed that the unit had only begun operations on August 20, 2019. However, the complainant alleged that the rent agreement was fake and that the unit had been operational for over a year before the complaint was filed.

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An inquiry by an Economic Offences officer confirmed that the owners of the polluting unit had forged the rent agreement, which was prepared by private individuals. The DPCC officials had failed to verify the documents, allowing the reduction of the fine to Rs 2.25 lakh.

The FIR suggests that monetary favors were involved in reducing the fine. “The reason the fine was waived clearly shows that the officer was awarded monetary favours for waiving the fine,” the FIR reads. A case has been registered against the accused under the Prevention of Corruption (POC) Act, as well as sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery), 471 (using forged documents), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).