The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has initiated three separate cases involving ten individuals, including a former director of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in Nagpur, over allegations of criminal conspiracy and corruption related to tendering and procurement processes.
Based on a complaint from the Chief Vigilance Officer of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the CBI has registered these cases. The accused include five public servants formerly associated with CSIR-NEERI in Nagpur, as well as several private firms based in Navi Mumbai, Thane, Powai Mumbai, and Prabhadevi-Mumbai.
Search operations were conducted at 17 locations across Maharashtra, Haryana, Bihar, and Delhi, resulting in the seizure of incriminating documents, property-related papers, jewellery, and other items.
In the first case, charges have been filed against two public servants and three private firms. Allegedly, the public servants conspired with the private companies to facilitate cartelization, collusive bidding, and the improper splitting of tenders, without obtaining necessary financial approvals, in exchange for unlawful benefits. The Navi Mumbai-based private firm was allegedly favoured in most tender awards, with one of its directors having familial ties to a CSIR-NEERI staff member.
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The second case involves accusations against public servants, including the former director and a principal scientist of CSIR-NEERI in Nagpur, along with a private firm from Prabhadevi-Mumbai. It is alleged that these individuals abused their positions to unfairly benefit the private firm during 2018-2019, including arbitrarily selecting them for a project without proper consultation.
In the third FIR, two public servants from CSIR-NEERI in Nagpur are accused of irregularities in procurement involving WAYU-II devices, proprietary to NEERI. Allegedly, these public servants colluded with private firms, including the Navi Mumbai-based firm, to secure undue advantages and committed significant procurement irregularities. The bidding process allegedly violated rules by favouring an exclusive licensee of NEERI’s technology without validating the license agreement’s validity.
These cases highlight serious allegations of corruption and misuse of official positions within CSIR-NEERI, prompting extensive investigative actions by the CBI across multiple states.
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