Birender Choudhary, a 2000 batch IFS officer, was caught for accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from four owners of sawmills. (Representational image)
As many as 52 sawmills being operated in the green corridor of Chandigarh were slapped show-cause notices by the tainted former member secretary of Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC), Birender Choudhary, a 2000 batch IFS officer, who was caught for accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from four owners of sawmills.
Choudhary was arrested on July 17 and is currently lodged at Model Burail Jail. Sources said four owners, who lodged a complaint against Choudhary to CBI, were among 52 owners who received notices from the IFS officer.
A senior officer of CPCC said, “These 52 sawmills were exclusively identified by Choudhary without keeping in the loop other members of CPCC. Before identifying these sawmills, CPCC had identified about 112 sawmills which were being operated in different corridors, and slapped notices on them. The owners of 74 out of 112 sawmills submitted replies and criminal proceedings were initiated against 38 sawmills. The proceedings are still going on in a local court.”
Santosh Kumar, vice-chairman of CPCC and chief conservator of forest, said, “The newly appointed member secretary of CPCC, P J S Dadwal, has identified these 52 sawmills. He is in touch with the owners of these mills and trying to figure out on which basis, notices were slapped against them by his predecessor Choudhary.”
Sources said CBI sleuths were in the process to contact the owners of 52 sawmills, which were served notices by the accused, to get more evidence against him.
According to rules, the member secretary of CPCC has powers to slap notices against the small scale industries, which are being operated in the green corridor of Chandigarh. There are four categories of corridors: white corridors, orange corridors, green corridors and red corridors.
The IFS officer was arrested on the complaint of Rajinder Singh, owner of Rajinder Singh and Brothers Saw Mill at Raipur Khurd. Three other owners, who also approached CBI, were Ganesh, Paramjeet Singh and Kala.