THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has barred state pollution control board chiefs of nine states including Kerala from continuing in their roles. The state government had extended the tenure of SPCB chairman K. Sajeevan. However, one the guidelines issued by NGT says that the nominated Chairman/Member Secretary should have a fixed term of office which should not be extended for more than one term. “Such persons should not hold office in the Board in accordance to their tenure in state government,” the guideline reads.
A vacation bench, headed by Justice R.S. Rathore, issued the interim order. The next hearing is scheduled for July 4. The other states where the chiefs have been barred from working are Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Maharashtra. Delhi government has been granted three months while Punjab and Uttar Pradesh have been granted two months for the appointment of a new chief. The state governments were asked to appoint new chiefs based on NGT guidelines in August last year. It issued showcause notices to the states and chairpersons, but the state government did not respond. Recently, NGT came down heavily on the state governments for not submitting the compliance reports.
The decision on barring Sajeevan was welcomed by AAP state convenor C.R. Neelakantan. “The state government’s environment policy is clear from the fact that a person who is not qualified for the job was allowed to continue for more than 1.5 years,” he said in a statement. The government should order a probe into the permissions and statutory clearances granted by the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) in the past two years under the chairmanship of K. Sajeevan for the past two years, said Kathikkudam Action Council present Jaison Panikkulangara. “There are several allegations of malpractices under the present chairman and a transparent probe should be ordered,” he said. Welcoming the NGT verdict for removal of the chairman from the post, he said, the decision also calls for the appreciation of the professional integrity shown by a section of the officials of the Board.
