Biodiversity body awaits new head after cabinet panel rejects earlier choice

The National Biodiversity Authority, an autonomous regulatory body under the supervision of Environment Ministry, was established in 2003 to implement provisions of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 that covers the conservation and use of India’s biological resources for commercial and research purposes.

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As first reported by The Indian Express on August 5 last year, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar had approved the appointment, overlooking objections raised by his predecessor M Veerappa Moily. But the ACC that comprises of the Prime Minister and Home Minister has turned the selection down. The Environment Ministry was told of the ACC rejection in the middle of January, sources said.

Accordingly, the Ministry placed a fresh advertisement for the post earlier this month. Candidates have been given 60 days to apply. Official sources said the appointment process is expected to be finalised by the end of June.

The post of NBA chairperson has been lying vacant since February last year when Balakrishna Pisupati resigned 10 months ahead of the completion of his tenure. Hem Pande, Additional Secretary in the Environment Ministry, has been holding the additional charge since then.

The previous process had come under a cloud because of the presence of Rajagopalan in the Environment Ministry. The Environment Secretary is generally a part of the search-cum-selection committee along with Secretaries of some other scientific departments like Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Earth Sciences and Department of Biotechnology. Since Rajagopalan himself was the candidate, he had recused himself from the committee and the then DoPT Secretary had been included in his place. However, the name of Kasturirangan as head of the committee had been suggested by him, in his capacity as Environment Secretary, to Moily, the then Environment Minister.

The fresh advertisement has not changed the eligibility criteria for the candidate. It asks for at least a postgraduate degree with 30 years experience in dealing with issues of science and social science and at least 5 years as head of any government institution.

The NBA chairperson has a tenure of three years that can be extended by another three years if the chairperson has not reached the age of 65 years.