Pollution board officials unhappy with ministry

NEW DELHI, September 18: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is headed by a chairman whose term ended two years ago and run by a b...

NEW DELHI, September 18: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is headed by a chairman whose term ended two years ago and run by a board whose term also expired in February this year. Uncertainty looms large over all the projects undertaken by the Board.

According to senior officials, there seems to be no move on the part of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) to replace members of the present board or extend its term. Moreover, chairman Dilip Biswas continues to hold charge of the CPCB on an “extended extension” on the recommendation of the MOEF. His colleagues term his present status as a “worker on daily wages”.

“There seems to be no initiative on the part of the ministry to constitute a new board,” says a senior CPCB official. “The only circular received in recent days was regarding the appointment of a new member secretary”.

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Under Secretary Rameshwar Dayal’s April 29 letter regarding the appointment has also resulted in a series of protest letters to the ministry.

Dayal’s letter states: “Applications of eligible officers as in the attached annexure, who can be relieved in the event of selection, may please be sent to the ministry….” The letter was sent to the chief secretaries of state governments and union territories.

One copy of the letter was sent to the CPCB chairman, asking him to suggest the name of “suitable candidates for appointment to the post of member secretary”.

In his reply to Vishwanath Anand, secretary MOEF, Biswas suggested the “continuation of the present incumbent, Dr S.P. Chakrabarti”. The letter further states: “At this stage, any change in the position of the member secretary will hamper the pace of acceleration in executing the pollution control programmes by CPCB. I am, therefore, of the view that the services of Dr S.P. Chakrabarti as member secretary, CPCB, may be continued”.

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Despite this recommendation, Chakrabarti was not called for the selection committee interviews held on September 17-18.

In a protest letter to the secretary, dated September 11, Chakrabarti states: “I have to bring to your notice that candidates much junior to me in CPCB in terms of seniority and professional experience, and with inferior qualification have been called to appear before the Selection Committee for the post of Member Secretary….On the other hand, I have not been called to appear before the Selection Committee, although I have worked with distinction as member secretary for over four years”.

The eligibility for the post according to the Water (prevention and control of pollution ) Act, 1974, is “a full-time member secretary possessing qualifications, knowledge and experience of scientific, engineering or management aspects of pollution control, to be appointed by the central government”.

Though the EC’s media invitation did not specify the subject, officials said the briefing would pertain to the SIR schedule. (File)

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