Review notices sent by bribe accused: UT

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 19

Directing the authorities to review all notices issued by bribe accused Birendra Choudhary, the Administration appointed PJS Dadwal as the new Member Secretary of the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC) today. Sources said Anurag Aggarwal, Home-cum-Forest Secretary, had directed the new Member Secretary to examine all notices in view of the officer’s arrest.

Birendra Choudhary, an Indian Forest Service officer and former Member Secretary of the CPCC, was arrested by the CBI while allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from the proprietor of a private firm at his Sector 27 house. According to the CBI, he had demanded the bribe after serving a show-cause notice for violations under the environment Act.

The sources said during Choudhary’s tenure, the CPCC was on a notice-serving spree. Over 200 notices were served on industrial units and timber traders. Many hotel and industrial units were sealed for violations. Timber traders in Sector 26 cried foul after the CPCC filed criminal cases against them for allegedly violating pollution norms. A trader said the action of the CPCC was wrong as all traders had permission to operate. Another trader said they were allotted the sites for timber trade and had registered themselves with the departments concerned. He said no officer approached them for years and suddenly now the CPCC was claiming that the shops were illegal.