New Delhi, 19 August (H.S.): The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) has claimed to have uncovered several crucial leads in its investigation into alleged manipulation of Delhi Jal Board (DJB) tenders for sewage treatment plants (STPs). The investigating agency has alleged that the cost of augmentation, or capacity enhancement, was included in tenders meant only for upgrading five STPs. According to the agency, this allegedly resulted in an undue benefit to the company providing the technology. The investigation has also purportedly traced a money trail of around Rs 16 crore and recovered chats and documents linked to the tender process.

The ACB on Tuesday arrested six people in the case, including former Delhi minister Satyendra Jain and former DJB CEO Udit Prakash Rai. The other accused are former DJB contractual consultant Ankit Srivastava, AN Enterprises proprietor Nagendra Yadav, Eurotech Environment Pvt. Ltd. owner Raj Kumar Kurra and Srijanhar proprietor Pankaj Verma. According to the investigating agency, the role of these companies has allegedly emerged in the manipulation of the tender process.

According to ACB sources, between 2021 and 2022, work related to the upgradation and augmentation of 10 STPs was to be undertaken under four operational packages. These plants were located in Nilothi, Najafgarh, Narela and Kondli. The agency has alleged that following manipulation of the tendering process, the contract was awarded to Eurotech.

The investigation reportedly found that augmentation costs were incorporated even in tenders for STPs where only upgradation was required. While upgradation involves improving the treatment quality of an existing plant, augmentation entails increasing its capacity to treat a larger volume of sewage. The ACB has alleged that inclusion of the additional augmentation cost directly benefited the technology provider.

According to sources, the ACB's investigation revealed that Satyendra Jain held his first meeting regarding the project with Raj Kumar Kurra at his office in August 2021. Subsequently, the process allegedly moved forward to facilitate the award of the tender to Kurra's company. The agency has also claimed to have found the involvement of the other four accused during the investigation.

The investigating agency has so far claimed to have traced a money trail of approximately Rs 16 crore, involving both cash transactions and bank transfers. It has alleged that money was routed through companies belonging to Nagendra Yadav and Pankaj Verma to intermediaries who were allegedly connected with Satyendra Jain and Udit Prakash Rai.

The ACB on Tuesday also claimed that Udit Prakash Rai received around Rs 1.52 crore in bribes in his own bank accounts and those of his relatives. According to the agency, the money was allegedly transferred through banking channels linked to Nagendra Yadav's company. The agency has further alleged that some of the funds were used to purchase immovable properties.

The investigation has also brought to light alleged relaxation of standards prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board for the quality of treated water discharged from the STPs. The ACB is examining the process through which the standards were allegedly altered and who may have benefited from the changes.

The ACB has seized several electronic devices, including mobile phones and laptops, belonging to the accused and sent them for forensic examination. The agency has claimed that the devices contain chats from 2021 and 2022, tender-related documents and conversations in which allegedly restrictive tender conditions were shared. Investigators are examining these digital records to establish the alleged chain through which the tender process was influenced.

The case was registered in 2024 under provisions relating to cheating, criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy, among other offences. The ACB subsequently continued its investigation into the tendering process, financial transactions and alleged links among the accused. The investigation remains underway, and the agency is examining the possibility of further arrests of government officials and private individuals in the coming days.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar