Environment Ministry bent norms to favour Rs 149-cr distillery that has Shivraj Patil’s son on its board

Ambala, Panchkula, June 7 : The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has flouted its own guidelines to clear the expansion — both in capacity and processes — of a distillery near Ambala of which Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil’s son Shailesh Patil and his wife Archana Patil are directors. And for which, as first reported in The Indian Express today, they used 4, Janpath, the Home Minister’s official residence, as their address.

This clearance has been strongly opposed by the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) which has asked for a “re-examination” of the order saying it goes far beyond what the plant was cleared for. In fact, HSPCB inspectors have alleged that the plant has already violated several environmental norms laid down when it got its first sanction in 2006.

N V Distilleries, sprawled across 52 acres in Naraingarh in Ambala district, commenced bottling operations for major liquor brands, including Seagram’s only two months ago. Started with an investment of Rs 149 crore, the plant is now the centre of a controversy with the HSPCB asking the Union Environment Ministry (MoEF) to “re-examine” the environmental clearances given for project expansion and change in raw material used by the distillery.

The consent applications granted to N V Distilleries in 2006 show industrialist Ashok Jain (who has been in the distillery business for two decades), Shailesh Patil and his wife Archana Patil as “Managing Directors/ Managing Partners” in the company. While Shailesh Patil told The Sunday Express that he has a 50 per cent stake in the distillery, Jain said he had “no financial stake,” admitting that having him on board “added to the profile of my project.”

Haryana Excise and Taxation Commissioner Arun Kumar confirmed: “Ashok Jain, Shailesh Patil and his wife are all partners in the distillery. The last two first wanted authorised signatories nominated by them to sign the permits and Memorandum of Understanding but we insisted on the rules and they signed.”

Contacted by The Sunday Express, Jain said: “We obtained every type of approval before we commenced operations.”

Given the potential impact of distilleries on ground, water and air pollution, the sanction process is guided by elaborate norms of the CREP (Corporate Responsibility for Environmental Protection), Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as well as strict guidelines imposed by the MoEF, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the state Boards, in this case the HSPCB.

Official records show how the Centre’s permission came...

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