Polluting faces ED action, FD attached

HYDERABAD: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) said it had attached a fixed deposit worth Rs 90 lakh belonging to Sree Venkateshwara Industries, Hyderabad, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The money, the ED said, was proceeds of crime generated when the company did not follow anti-pollution norms.

The ED said it had initiated an investigation on the basis of a complaint filed by the TS Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) in the Court of the Metropolitan Magistrate, Cyberabad at Medchal.

As per the complaint, Sree Venkateshwara Industries was disposing of hazardous waste material without proper treatment in violation of the prescribed rules and regulations which were stipulated by the TSPCB under various sections of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act.

ED investigation revealed that Sree Venkateshwara Industries and its partners did not comply with the statutory requirement of treatment of hazardous waste generated in their premises and did not send the same to the treatment, storage, and disposal facility of the Hyderabad Waste Management Project.

Instead, the firm disposed of the hazardous waste by giving it to brick manufacturers. The investigation also revealed that by committing the said offence, the firm and its partners generated proceeds of crime amounting to Rs90 lakh which has been provisionally attached during the investigation.