Par panel concerned over post of CPCB chief lying vacant

Disapproving any "compromised" autonomy of Central Pollution Control Board, a Parliamentary panel today said there "can be no justification" on giving an Environment Ministry official additional charge as the board's chairperson.
In its report tabled in the Lok Sabha, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forest also expressed concern over the post of CPCB chairman lying vacant for over a year and noted that the board enjoys autonomy only on paper and, in practice, it is often found to be compromised.
"There can be no justification whatsoever for assigning additional charge of chairman to one of its officers however senior and well versed with functions of CPCB he may be, as it impinges on its autonomous character," the committee said in its report which was in response to the ministry's action taken on its previous recommendations.

The committee recommended that the senior most CPCB official should be given the charge.
"The committee finds that the post of chairman CPCB has been lying vacant for the last over one year and additional charge given to a senior officer of MoEF. This is not an isolated incidence of assumption of additional charge of chairman CPCB by MoEF officers as it has happened in the past also," the committee noted in its report.
It added although the "institution of CPCB enjoys autonomous status on paper, its autonomy is often found to be compromised in practice".

It said that in a situation where reasons beyond the control of the ministry, the post cannot be filled up by the date the incumbent chairman demits office, charge should be given to senior most member of CPCB.

"A practice may be adopted to give temporary charge to the senior most member of the CPCB," the committee, chaired by T Subbarami Reddy, noted.
Expressing its serious concerns over the rapid rise in all types of pollution, the committee also recommended that CPCB zonal centres proposed to be opened in Chennai and Chandigarh must be expedited and made functional at the earliest possible and efforts be made to further increase their numbers.