MUMBAI, Aug. 21 -- Former Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) commissioner Anil Pawar - arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with its money laundering probe into the construction of 41 illegal, now-demolished buildings in Vasai East - had approved building plans measuring 55 million square feet during his tenure in lieu of bribes levied at fixed rates, agency sources familiar with the probe told Hindustan Times. Pawar allegedly indulged in such activities in connivance with the former VVCMC deputy director of town planning, YS Reddy. Rampant unauthorised construction within VVCMC limits was one of the reasons why water accumulated on the railway tracks and affected local train services on Tuesday, as per Western Railway. According to the ED, Pawar, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, had formed a cartel that set in motion large-scale illegal construction in Vasai-Virar, and he was assisted in this by Reddy. Both Pawar Reddy were arrested by the ED last week, along with former corporator Sitaram Gupta and co-accused Arun Gupta. On Wednesday, all four accused were remanded in judicial custody till September 3 by a city-based special court. The accused have denied the ED's charges. The investigation so far has revealed that Pawar worked in connivance with Reddy to issue commencement certificates for construction projects with a total built-up area of 55,043,263.59 square feet in urban and green zone areas. "Bribe in the form of commission was charged at fixed rates for all the approvals," an officer aware of the matter told HT. Pawar and Reddy created a well-oiled mechanism for collection of bribes pertaining to various approvals and permissions, such as issuance of commencement/ occupancy certificates and revised development permissions for different layouts and building plans, said agency sources. When Pawar headed the VVCMC from 2022 till he relinquished charge on July 24, he had all civic departments under his supervision, including the office of the Chief Controller of Unauthorised Constructions, which is responsible for prevention and demolition of unauthorised structures, the sources said. The bribery or commission rate levied during Pawar's tenure was much higher than the rates sought by the VVCMC town planning department, the sources added....