No political appointments in pollution control boards: NGT

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Wednesday directed all the states and union territories to review the post of Chairman and Member Secretary in their respective pollution control boards within three months.

NGT asked all the state governments to refrain from making any political appointments in the pollution control boards.

The NGT bench headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar also said that the tenure of the board members must not be disturbed. This means that members should be allowed to complete their tenure and not change along with respective state governments.

The NGT had last year directed the Ministry of Environment and Forests to submit detailed information about members and office bearers of all State Pollution Control Boards on their designation, experience and qualifications.

The directions came during the hearing of a plea by Uttarakhand-based petitioner Rajendra Singh Bhandari, who said that unqualified and undeserving people were appointed as Chairman, Member Secretary and members of the pollution control boards.