KSPCB officers fight it out for power

Two senior officers at the Karnataka Pollution Control Board’s (KSPCB) Central Laboratory at Shivanagar are at loggerheads to occupy the main chamber. One officer has been transferring and relieving the staff of the lab allegedly against rules.

The occupation of the chamber allotted to the laboratory’s chief environmental officer B G Mohankrishna by chief scientific officer B R Balagangadharan is the main reason for the controversy.

The chamber for Mohan­kris­hna had been allotted by KSPCB chairman Vaman Acharya. However, it is said the move did not go down well with Balagangadharan. He is said to have replaced the nameplate of Mohankrishna with that of himself. Mohankrishna had brought the incident to the notice of KSPCB’s chief administrative officer, but to no avail, it is learnt.

Balagangadharan is said to have transferred five officers to the central office, though he has no such powers. He also reportedly passed an order to do away with the biometric system of attendance at the laboratory and follow the old system of signing on the atte­n­dance register.

Balagangadharan said he was functioning within the limits of his rights. “The chamber to Mohankrishna has been allotted in the ‘D’ block of the laboratory. I have not transferred any of the staff. I have just reallocated their responsibilities. There were several flaws in the biometric system,” he claimed.