MUMBAI, Oct. 15 -- Former Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) commissioner and Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Anil Pawar made at least Rs.169 crore via bribes and commissions for approving various building plans and turning a blind eye to illegal construction within VVCMC limits, according to the charge sheet submitted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a special court. After joining the VVCMC as commissioner in 2022, Pawar allegedly formed a cartel of civic officers, junior engineers, architects, chartered accountants and liasioners that set in motion large-scale illegal construction in Vasai-Virar. He fixed the bribe/ commission amounts for various types of approvals and permissions, including his own share, and laundered the proceeds of crime via entities created in the name of his family members and benamidars, the charge sheet submitted by the ED on Friday said. The special court is yet to take cognisance of the charge sheet. The Mumbai unit of the ED is conducting a money laundering probe into the now-demolished 41 illegal buildings in Vasai East and corruption in the civic body. The probe was initiated based on multiple cases registered by the Mira-Bhayander police, and pertained to illegal construction in the Vasai-Virar region since 2009, including on a 60-acre plot, of which 30 acres was reserved for a sewage treatment plant as per the development plan. On July 8, 2024, the Bombay High Court ordered the demolition of all 41 buildings on the plot, rendering nearly 2, 500 families homeless. The demolition of the buildings was completed on February 20 this year. In the charge sheet submitted in court on Friday, the ED has named 18 accused persons and entities, including Pawar, former VVCMC deputy director of town planning YS Reddy, former Bahujan Vikas Aghadi corporator Sitaram Gupta and co-accused Arun Gupta. Pawar, Reddy, Sitaram Gupta and Arun Gupta were arrested on August 13 and are currently in judicial custody. The ED had, last week, provisionally attached assets worth Rs.71 crore in connection with the case. Of this, immovable assets worth around Rs.44 crore were linked to Pawar, officials aware of the matter told Hindustan Times. When Pawar headed the VVCMC from 2022 till he was transferred in July this year, he had all civic departments under his supervision. He fixed the rate for bribes to be collected via the civic body's town planning department at Rs.20-25 per square foot and Rs.62 per square foot, for development approvals in the corporation's urban zone and green zone, respectively, the charge sheet said. According to the ED, Pawar worked in connivance with Reddy to issue commencement certificates for construction projects in urban and green zones, with the total built-up area exceeding 55 million square feet. Pawar also formulated a commission system for the office of the Chief Controller of Unauthorised Constructions, which is responsible for prevention and demolition of unauthorised structures within VVCMC limits, the charge sheet said. The amount for giving protection to existing illegal buildings and overlooking ongoing unauthorised constructions was fixed at Rs.150 per square foot, of which Rs.50 per square foot was Pawar's share alone. "Pawar extended protection to the 41 now-demolished illegal buildings in Vasai East in lieu of a bribe at the same rate," said an ED officer. The ED's probe revealed that Pawar created a number of entities in the name of his family members, relatives and benamidars to launder the collected bribe amounts. The funds were subsequently utilised to purchase gold, diamond and pearl jewellery and expensive sarees, He also invested in warehouses, farmhouses and a residential project floated in the name of his wife, the ED found. "Most of the proceeds of crime have been invested in immovable properties under the name of Pawar's wife, daughters and other relatives, to project them as untainted," said the ED officer quoted earlier. The assets worth Rs.44 crore, seized by the ED last week, had been acquired by Pawar in the same manner, the officer added. The accused persons, including Pawar and Reddy, have rebutted the ED's allegations. Terming the agency's action against Pawar "unjustified and baseless", his lawyer Ujjwalkumar Chavhan had earlier sought a fair, impartial and transparent probe....