Govt slow-pedals on PCB head K Sajeevan

Kochi: While the National Green Tribunal has asked K. Sajeevan to leave the post of State Pollution Control Board chairman on June 8, the government is yet to make a new appointment. “The Board is in a crisis as the government has not appointed a new chairman. The usual practice is to hand over the charge to the Environment Secretary or to the Member Secretary of the PCB when the chairman's post is vacant. But, even after two weeks, the government has not issued any order in this regard,” said sources at PCB.  Meanwhile, there are allegations that though Mr. Sajeevan is not in the office, he is still handling files online.

“After his removal from the post, the former chairman reviewed a couple of applications submitted by big companies. He checked the files online,” sources added. However, when contacted Mr. Sajeevan told DC that he still continued in office as the government was yet to issue an order. “It is the state government which should issue the order to remove me from the post. Being the chairman, I can check files as well,” he said.

The government has adopted a ‘wait and watch’ approach on the NGT verdict and is yet to take a decision on whether to file an appeal against the order. K. Sajeevan has been at the centre of a row over the three extensions that have allowed him to continue in office since 2013. He was first appointed in 2010, got an extension in 2013, followed by two more in 2014 and 2015.