NEW DELHI: Six immovable properties worth Rs 10.55 crore of certain directors and shareholders of Gurugram-based real estate company Ansal Properties and Infrastructure Ltd (APIL) have been attached under the anti-money laundering law in a case linked to alleged violation of environment protection laws, the ED said on Wednesday.
The attached properties, provisionally frozen under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), consist of commercial units located in Gurugram (Haryana), Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh) and Ludhiana (Punjab).
The assets belong to directors, shareholders and beneficial owners of APIL like Sushil Ansal, Pranav Ansal and Kusum Ansal, in a case that stems from the “violation” of The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act and The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act in two of its residential real estate projects located in Gurugram.
Haryana Police had first registered an FIR and later filed a chargesheet before a court, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said in a statement.
The company or its promoters could not be contacted immediately for a comment on the ED action against them.
The case pertains to the charge that APIL did not install sewage treatment plant (STP) in its project ‘Sushant Lok Phase-I’ and the effluent generated was passed through HUDA (Harayana Urban Development Authority) sewerage lines. In the second instance, the STP installed in its ‘Esencia’ project was of “inadequate” capacity, it alleged.
During an inspection conducted by the Haryana Pollution Control Board officials, the STPs installed were found “abandoned” and without any operation and maintenance, the agency said.
Probe found that “by not treating the domestic effluent/untreated sewage water as per norms, APIL on one hand caused damage to public health and environment while at the same time kept enjoying the fruits of the resultant profit.
“The promoters of the company did not bother to treat the waste or to take any measures as per the HSPCB norms and thus, unduly benefitted to the tune of Rs 10.55 core which is nothing but the proceeds of crime, generated perpetually by the said criminal activity,” it said.
