HC nod for appointing pollution control board chief

The High Court on Monday permitted the state government to proceed with the appointment of chairperson for Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB).

A division bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma clarified that the appointment is subject to the final outcome of the PILs, challenging clauses in the guidelines framed by the state government as qualifications for the post.

During the hearing, the state government submitted the name of the person selected for the post of chairperson in a sealed cover. The selection was conducted as per the public notice, inviting applications, in July 2020. The bench observed that KSPCB is functioning without the chairperson since June 2020. The court perused the selection of the state government and permitted it to go ahead with the appointment.

A batch of PILs had initially challenged the appointments made in absence of qualification guidelines to appoint the chairperson of the KSPCB. After the guidelines were formed, contentions were raised in respect to the qualification, both educational as well as experience in administering an institution.

The court observed that a person selected for the post of chairperson should have either an experience in the areas relating to environmental protection or should have administered any government department, organisation, institute dealing with environmental issues.