CBI books TTPL MD, former MD for ₹120-crore loss over hiring of consultant

They allegedly appointed “MECON, Ranchi, Uttaranchal” — a PSU under the steel ministry — as a consultant at a charge of ₹9 crore instead of the agreed ₹3.5 crore, said the FIR registered on the directions of the Kerala High Court.

The FIR lists the MD of TTPL as accused number one, but does not give the name.

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The pollution problem

TTPL manufactures the titanium dioxide pigment widely used in tablet and pellet coatings. The process generates large quantities of liquid effluent containing ferrous sulphate and sulphuric acid, discharged into the Arabian Sea.

In 2003-04, the TTPL engaged “Metallurgical and Engineering Consultants (India) Limited (MECON), Ranchi, Uttaranchal” to address the problem.

MECON had to prepare a basic project implementation document (BPID), an environmental impact assessment (EIA) report and an environmental management plan (EMP) as well as carry out engineering project management and implementation.

Officials said the estimated cost of the project proposed by MECON was ₹129 crore for the first phase and ₹126 crore for the second phase. The project cost was more than twice the value of the total assets of TTPL, the Kerala High Court had noted in its November 2023 order.

“More than ₹120 crore had already been spent by the titanium company (TTPL) for the pollution control projects proposed by MECON. But the plants could not be commissioned. In the meantime, MECON intimated to the titanium company in June 2007 that the project’s total cost for Phase I and II escalated to ₹414 crore (₹225.8 crore for Phase I and ₹188.6 crore for Phase II).

“The additional amount required to complete the pollution control project, part of Phase I, was about ₹160 crore. The titanium company was unable to incur such a huge additional financial burden,” the court noted.

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Loss of ₹120 crore

It said the project conceived and implemented through MECON caused a loss of ₹120 crore to without any corresponding benefit.

“The selection of MECON as a project management consultant, the implementation of its recommendation without proper assessment of financial viability and technical feasibility and the placement of orders through MECON was part of a criminal conspiracy hatched at the highest level of administration in the State Government and by the officials of the titanium company and MECON,” it said.

In its FIR, the CBI alleged MECON placed work orders for a Finland-based company Chematur Ecoplanning for ₹258 crore without inviting a global tender. This violated the provisions of the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee without the Union Environment and Forest Ministry’s sanction and was violative of the Hazardous Waste Rules of 1989.

Chematur was paid ₹20 crore as an advance without obtaining a performance guarantee. Joseph and Bhaskaran received an undue pecuniary advantage for themselves and those who favour them, the agency alleged.

In an alleged criminal conspiracy, Joseph facilitated former chief commercial managers, TTPL Thomas Mathew and B Gopakumaran Nair, to set up a namesake firm to “plunder the TTPL funds”, in which they made themselves consultants and took consultancy charges, it said.

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