NT NETWORK
PANAJI
Appointments to the key posts of the chairman and member secretary of Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) will be done soon, informed Environment Minister Rajendra Arlekar, even as he said that there is no need to amend the Goa Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Rules 1988 to change the eligibility criteria for appointing the chairman and member secretary.
“Procedure for appointment of GSPCB chairman and member secretary has started. We are following the NGT order in fulfilling the criteria set by court for the purpose,” Arlekar said.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) last month had directed the state governments to appoint chairpersons and member secretary in pollution control boards on merit basis within three months.
GSPCB is now headed by chief secretary R K Srivastava after its chairman Jose Manuel Noronha was appointed chairman of Goa public service commission in March this year. Levinson Martins, an official of Goa civil services cadre, has been the member secretary for about three years and continues to hold the post.
Following the NGT order, the minister had said that “we will soon invite applications for the posts of chairman and member secretary of GSPCB who will have special knowledge, practical experience or qualification in environment area.”
“We are adhering not only to the NGT order but also following directions given by the committee constituted by SC in 2003, to every state pollution control board to appoint chairperson having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of matters relating to environment protection or a person having knowledge and experience in administering institutions,” he said.
The order was passed based on a plea by Uttarakhand native Rajendra Singh Bhandari, who had challenged the constitution of state pollution control boards on the ground that people who did not qualify were appointed as chairman, member secretary and members of these boards.
As per the latest NGT order, the appointment of chairman and member secretary should not be by virtue of their designation in service of the state government like Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary, Environment Secretary or even politician like former speaker, minister, MLA, literary persons and non technical persons.