Scam Alert: Forged CA Certificates used to Establish Industrial Units in Sonepat

In a significant revelation, it has been reported that a scam was allegedly used in Sonepat to obtain fake certificates from chartered accountants (CAs) in order to obtain permission to establish (CTE) and permission to operate (CTO) industrial units from the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB).

Sources claim that the aforementioned industrial units, which were subject to pollution regulations, submitted fictitious CA certificates in order to obtain the CTE and CTO, colluded with some agents, and caused a significant financial loss to the HSPCB.

Varun Gulati, an environmentalist from Delhi, reported the alleged scam to the chief minister of Haryana, the chief secretary of the Haryana government, DC Sonepat, the director general of vigilance in Haryana, and the member secretary of the HSPCB.

Gulati said in his complaint that obtaining CTO and CTE from the pollution board was required of all industrial units, restaurants, and other units. The pollution board calculates the fee amount for granting the CTE and CTO during the file processing process based on the project’s overall cost, which should be confirmed by a chartered accountant (CA) and includes land, plant, and equipment costs. After the facts had been verified, the CA was required to submit their report, he continued.

However, he claimed that industrialists, restaurant owners, and others have caused a significant income loss to the HSPCB and the state government by filing fictitious CA certificates in the department by demonstrating the low cost of the projects. He claimed that the scam has been active in the district since 2011.

He added that only two CAs issued the majority of the certificates placed to the pollution board’s webpage, which showed that the project’s cost was extremely low. The board set the pricing for the CTO and CTE based on the CAs certificate, but the actual cost of the projects was far higher than the cost shown on the CA certificates, he added.

Varun further said that if the situation were thoroughly investigated, a scam worth crores of rupees would come to light. Varun continued, “The HSPCB officials may have missed this scam or failed to recognise it.”