Aafrin Kidwai 
The World Bank Group today has announced the 20-month debarment of Ramky Enviro Engineers Limited (REEL) in connection with a fraudulent practice as part of the Capacity Building for Industrial Pollution Management Project in India.
The debarment makes REEL and its Managing Director, Mr. M. Goutham Reddy, ineligible to participate in projects and operations financed by the World Bank Group. It is part of a settlement agreement under which the company and its Managing Director do not contest responsibility for the underlying sanctionable practice and agree to meet specified corporate compliance conditions as a condition for release from debarment.
The project was designed to strengthen the capacity of selected state pollution control agencies in the remediation of polluted sites and to support development of a framework to establish a national program for their remediation. According to the facts of the case, which are not contested, REEL and its Managing Director in 2014 failed to disclose a subcontractor when bidding for the contract on the closure and containment of a municipal solid waste dumpsite at Ukkayyapalli, Kadapa, in Andhra Pradesh. REEL also failed to obtain prior approval before subcontracting works under the contract and, in 2017, misrepresented the existence of this subcontracting arrangement to the Bank. This conduct is a fraudulent practice under the World Bank’s Procurement Guidelines.
The settlement agreement provides for a reduced period of debarment in light of the company’s cooperation, voluntary restraint, and voluntary remedial actions, including revisions to REEL’s integrity compliance program. As a condition for release from sanction under the terms of the settlement agreement, the company commits to further develop and implement its integrity compliance program to reflect the principles set out in the World Bank Group Integrity Compliance Guidelines. The company also commits to continue to fully cooperate with the World Bank Group Integrity Vice Presidency.
The debarment of REEL and Mr. M. Goutham Reddy qualifies for cross-debarment by other multilateral development banks (MDBs) under the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions that was signed on April 9, 2010.
Disclaimer: This article is taken from a press release issued by The World Bank, Washington DC.
