NCP leader Rohit Pawar alleges political vendetta in MPCB action against his factory

The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) in the wee hours of Thursday took action against the Baramati Agro Ltd factory run by NCP MLA Rohit Pawar for violating environmental rules, and asked the company to shut its unit within 72 hours. On Friday, the company challenged the order in the high court and got relief from action till October 6, the day of the next hearing. This is the second action against a political leader by a government agency recently.

Rohit, who is the grandnephew of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, runs Baramati Agro Ltd which has a distillery unit at Indapur tehsil with a total capacity of 600 kilolitres per day. On August 22, MPCB officials found that the company had disposed of the spent wash (liquid waste) by transferring it to two tankers and dumping it on a plot of land at Vahyali village. They then visited the distillery on the same day and discovered that more pollution control norms related to the disposal of waste had been violated.

On the basis of this, a sub-regional officer of MPCB submitted a legal action proposal. On September 4, Baramati Agro Ltd submitted a reply, and a personal hearing was held on September 27. After that, MPCB directed Baramati Agro Ltd to shut the unit within 72 hours.

Rohit alleged that the action had been taken on the instructions of “two big leaders” in the state government. “Action was taken at 2 am on Thursday,” he said. “They are creating trouble for me because I speak out and take a firm stand.” Rohit has remained loyal to senior Pawar following a vertical split in the party. He is also a vocal critic of the rebel NCP faction and the BJP.

The notice sent by MPCB said that the spent wash from Pawar’s factory had been disposed of illegally and unscientifically. “During the visit, officials found that the unit was operating at 50 percent capacity and was still not operating the zero liquid discharge system regularly, which is a violation of the rules,” states the notice. “There is a violation of environmental clearance conditions too. Mr Prakash Jathar, CEO of your unit, was present for a personal hearing, and the reply submitted by the company is not satisfactory.”

The Bombay high court, while scheduling a hearing for October 6, has given relief to Baramati Agro from closure till then. Rohit, meanwhile, has openly blamed the government. “It is easy to indulge in the politics of vendetta while enjoying power earned through unethical means,” he said. “People will decide how to take revenge for this in the coming elections. You (BJP-Shinde government) have set a tradition of political vendetta. But do not forget that in a democracy, ultimately it is people who create governments.”

MPCB officials, however, claimed that action has been taken as per the rules. “It was done according to environmental law and rules and after a due hearing,” said Avinash Dhakane, member secretary of MPCB.

This is the second time recently that a government agency has taken action against a political leader. After disgruntled BJP leader Pankaja Munde recently organised an independent tour to show her strength, the GST commissionerate on Monday seized assets worth ₹19 crore from the Munde-owned Vaidyanath cooperative sugar factory in Beed for not paying taxes on the sale of sugar.