Delhi Court Grants Bail to Former DJB CEO Udit Prakash Rai, Four Others in STP Tender Case

NEW DELHI:
A Delhi court on Wednesday granted bail to former Delhi Jal Board (DJB) CEO Udit Prakash Rai and four others in a case involving alleged corruption, tender manipulation and irregularities in the civic body’s sewage treatment plant (STP) projects.

Special Judge (PC Act) Dig Vinay Singh of the Rouse Avenue Courts granted bail to Rai, Nagendra Yadav, Raj Kumar Kurra, Pankaj Verma and Ankit Srivastava. Each accused was granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 2 lakh.

The five accused were arrested by the Delhi government’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) on August 18 in connection with alleged irregularities in the tendering process for the augmentation and upgradation of STPs in the national capital.

The arrests followed an FIR registered on May 11, 2024, at the ACB police station on a complaint by the Delhi Directorate of Vigilance. The FIR invokes Sections 7, 7A, 9 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended in 2018, along with Sections 420, 409, 418 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code.

The case also involves Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain, who was granted bail by the same court on September 3.

According to the ACB, the investigation concerns alleged large-scale irregularities, manipulation of tender conditions and criminal conspiracy in the awarding of contracts for DJB’s STP projects.

The agency has alleged that the tender contained restrictive technical specifications and conditions that favoured a particular technology provider, M/s Euroteck Environment Private Limited. According to the ACB, these conditions restricted competition and provided an undue advantage to the selected private entity.

The agency further alleged that a proposed pilot study for the STP upgradation work was not conducted and that restrictive provisions concerning the technology and media to be used were incorporated into the tender, while essential parameters related to treated effluent were left out.

Investigators alleged that technical specifications were subsequently altered, resulting in significant financial implications for the government exchequer.

The ACB has also alleged that private individuals maintained regular communication with certain public servants and intermediaries during the tendering process. Analysis of electronic evidence allegedly showed exchanges involving restrictive tender conditions, corrigendums and other project documents, which were subsequently incorporated into the DJB tender.

The agency has further alleged that commission or bribe money was routed through intermediary entities, including M/s Srijanhar and M/s AN Enterprises.

According to the probe agency, substantial amounts were transferred from entities linked to M/s Euroteck to the proprietorship concern of accused Nagendra Yadav. The investigation allegedly traced subsequent transactions involving transfers of funds to government officials, including then DJB CEO Rai, as well as his relatives.

The ACB has alleged that Rai received bribes totalling around Rs 1.52 crore in his own and his relatives’ bank accounts through banking channels from M/s AN Enterprises, with the agency claiming that the money originated from M/s Euroteck.