CBI Charges Top Scientists, Businessmen in NEERI Corruption Scandal

The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed charges against 10 individuals, including a former NEERI director, for alleged conspiracy and corruption in the tendering and procurement processes. The investigation resulted in the recovery of incriminating documents and items across multiple states.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed three separate cases against ten individuals, including a former director of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in Nagpur. The charges include allegations of criminal conspiracy and corruption related to tendering and procurement processes. The CBI took this action following a complaint from the Chief Vigilance Officer of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

The accused list comprises five public servants: a former director, a senior scientist and head of the Director's Research Cell, a principal scientist, a senior principal scientist, and a senior fellow from NEERI's Delhi Zonal Centre. Several private firms based in Navi Mumbai, Thane, Powai-Mumbai, and Prabhadevi-Mumbai are also involved. Searches conducted at 17 locations across Maharashtra, Haryana, Bihar, and Delhi have so far led to the recovery of incriminating documents, property-related records, jewelry, and other items.

In one of the cases, two public servants and three private firms have been accused of conspiracy. Allegedly, public servants conspired with private firms to engage in cartelization, collusive bidding, and tender-splitting, all while avoiding necessary financial approvals. Among the private firms, one Navi Mumbai firm stands out as its director is married to a CSIR-NEERI contractual staff member with longstanding ties to the former director.

The second case involves a joint proposal between CSIR-NEERI and a private firm for advisory services to Thane Municipal Corporation. The proposal, amounting to Rs 19.75 lakhs, was arbitrarily approved by the former NEERI director and a principal scientist without consulting the Financial Advisor. Allegedly, the former director had previous associations with the private firm.

The third first information report (FIR) names two public servants and two private firms, including one in Navi Mumbai. It accuses them of abusing their official positions to gain undue advantages in the procurement, fabrication, and installation of WAYU-II devices, a patented NEERI technology. The procurement process was allegedly compromised by single-source tendering and expired licensing agreements, raising questions about procedural violations.

(With inputs from agencies.)