State yet to frame rules for KSPCB chief job

The name of Chikkaballapur MLA Dr K Sudhakar proposed for the post of chairman of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has raised eyebrows for more than one reason. To start with, Karnataka is yet to come up with guidelines as ordered by the Supreme Court.

The chairman of KSPCB is appointed as per the provisions of Section 4(2) of the Water Act and Section 5(2) of the Air Act.

Several petitions were filed before the National Green Tribunal (NGT), challenging the appointment of chairmen to several state pollution control boards.

The NGT principal bench passed an order in August 2016, holding that experience of administering institutions related to environment alone, without knowledge of environment protection, would not make a person eligible for nomination.

NGT order

In September 2017, the Supreme Court set aside the order of the NGT, but asked the state governments to ‘walk the extra mile in achieving the real objectives of creating pollution control boards’.

The court ordered all state governments to frame guidelines, considering the institutional requirements of the board, laws laid down by the Supreme Court and reports of various committees, within six months.

Sources said the appointment of chairman to the board can only be done after the state Cabinet clears the guidelines.

N L Shanta Kumar, principal secretary, Forests, told DH that the draft guidelines as per the order of the Supreme Court were before the state government.

“We are at it (introducing the guidelines). The draft has been finalised in concurrence with the existing rules. It may come up before the Cabinet soon,’’ he said.