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 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.