Nearly half of all posts in pollution boards vacant, some for decades

According to the affidavit, of the full 11,562 sanctioned posts successful each SPCBs and PCCs, 5,671 (49.04%) posts person been near unfilled. While immoderate of these posts person been vacant for a period oregon so, others person been vacant for decades — astatine slightest 1 station successful the Punjab SPCB has been vacant for implicit 35 years (423 months).

Only 2 states — Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh — person nary vacancies, with each 17 and 27 sanctioned posts respectively being filled.

The states with the astir vacancies are Sikkim (100%), Jharkhand (73.06%), Andhra Pradesh (70.10%), Madhya Pradesh (63.76%) and Manipur (63.02%) (see chart). In an affidavit to the NGT, the Sikkim authorities said the recruitment process has been kept “on hold” arsenic the authorities has been “unable” to allocate funds.

Sikkim has the smallest SPCB with lone 11 sanctioned posts, portion the Madhya Pradesh SPCB has the largest sanctioned spot with 1,228 posts, of which 783 are vacant “due to tribunal proceedings”.

Over 60% vacancies successful 11 states, 100% successful Sikkim: CPCB to NGT

The CPCB and SPCBs were established nether the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. Under this Act, the responsibilities of SPCBs included conducting investigations and probe regarding h2o pollution, advising the authorities authorities connected matters concerning h2o pollution, and monitoring compliance with the law. Besides administrative staff, the boards see posts for method members similar scientists and engineers.

In the decades since, the responsibilities of the CPCB and SPCBs person been expanded with much authorities connected biology issues. These boards are present tasked with taking connected akin duties regarding aerial pollution, biology protection, discarded absorption (including hazardous, biomedical and coagulated waste) and sound contamination among different issues.

Speaking to The Indian Express, biology lawyer and activistic Akash Vashishtha said: “Pollution power boards are precise important technological bodies. They person progressively assumed the presumption of a technological instauration and necessitate upgraded and precocious infrastructure for investigating and sampling to tackle the existent contamination scenario.”

“Unfortunately, these boards are struggling with resources successful presumption of manpower. In the existent ineligible framework, these boards are required to behaviour quarterly and adjacent monthly sampling exercises successful the lawsuit of immoderate important h2o bodies. When you don’t person the scientists and engineers, however volition you beryllium capable to cod samples, overmuch little behaviour the indispensable testing. In agrarian areas, they trust connected important h2o bodies for some drinking and irrigation purposes. Without sampling and testing, however volition you beryllium capable to guarantee these resources are escaped of contamination and harmless for consumption,” helium said.

Setting a deadline, the NGT, connected September 11, directed each states and UTs to capable the vacancies by April 30 adjacent year. This, however, does not see Punjab, Delhi and the states with areas successful the National Capital Region (NCR) — Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Vacancies successful SPCBs successful these states and PCC successful Delhi are already the taxable of an ongoing lawsuit successful the Supreme Court. According to the latest data, implicit fractional the sanctioned posts (53.68%) astatine the SPCBs and PCC successful the NCR are lying vacant – 1,253 of the 2,334 sanctioned posts. In Rajasthan and Haryana, the vacancies spell up to implicit 60%.

When the NCR concern was flagged successful the Supreme Court by Senior Advocate Aparajita Singh connected April 22 this year, 56.15% of the sanctioned posts were lying vacant. The tribunal past directed the 4 NCR states and Punjab to record affidavits specifying the fig of vacant posts and the steps taken to capable them.

On August 27, a seat of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih said: “Today, the concern is that owed to a ample fig of vacant posts successful the State Pollution Control Boards, the said boards person go ineffective for each purposes”. Noting that stubble burning and contamination would go an contented successful the portion “very soon”, the tribunal acceptable a deadline for filling the vacancies. “Under nary circumstances, we are going to assistance them clip for filling each the vacancies beyond April 30, 2025,” the tribunal said.

The Supreme Court is acceptable to perceive the lawsuit again connected September 27.

Over the past year, some the Supreme Court and the NGT person been monitoring states’ efforts to capable these vacancies. The NGT began monitoring SPCB vacancies successful November past year, aft taking suo motu cognizance of a media report. In a consequent study submitted to the NGT connected November 22 past year, the CPCB said implicit fractional of each sanctioned posts were vacant (50.8%).