Appointment of Whole Time Chairman of APPCB

The proposal for appointment of whole-time Chairman of AP State Pollution Control Board,(APPCB) is reported to be under active consideration of the State Govt. It is a welcome change as the Chief Secretary had been officiating as part-time Chairman of APPCB all these years, and was not able to address effectively, the serious environmental problems/ issues being faced by the State.

 

APPCB Performance

 

 Some of the serious environmental problems/issues being faced by the State are – the pollution of water bodies, the unabated urban air pollution, the discharge of untreated / undertreated industrial effluents, the destruction of sensitive wetlands in coastal areas by Thermal Power Plants, the poor performance of CETPs & STPs, the non-implementation of MSW Rules 1999, the failure to stop manufacture of sub-standard Plastic Carry Bags etc

 

 Due to lack of proper direction and guidance from the Chairman & the Board and in the absence of regular Review & Monitoring of the performance by the Board, the APPCB failed to act and perform effectively in many of the issues, in spite of strictures /directives of AP High Court and the Supreme Court of India, from time to time

 

Need for Whole Time Chairman  

 

The need of the day is reconstitution of the Board and the appointment of a person having special knowledge and administrative experience in respect of environmental issues, as the Whole-Time Chairman of APPCB. But the post should not be used for rehabilitation of the Retiring IAS Officer. To be fair to IAS Officers, hasten to add, that a couple of IAS Officers appointed as Member Secretary of APPCB had performed extremely well leaving their mark.

 

SCMC Observations on APPCB

 

The Supreme Court Monitoring Committee(SCMC) on Hazardous Wastes, in its Report of visit to Hyderabad 19-20 October 2004, made the following observations on functioning of APPCB:

 

  a)As the Board stands constituted today, neither the Chief Secretary  (Chairman) nor the Member Secretary is a subject professional with   
     the  necessary technical  qualifications & relevant experience, to  ensure that the Board discharges its functions as required by

      the Environment Laws.

 

 b)There also appears to be clear conflict of interest between the  decisions required by  the Board and the the decisions of the A.P. Govt..

    As the Board has been   reduced to an appendage of the Government, it does appear to be taking decisions  that will always support

     the Government. This is clearly  demonstrated in the case of  two large projects. ( The PVC Plant at   Krishnapatnam and Pharma City

     at Parwada)

 

c)Given the rapid advances in environmental sciences & technologies & allied  disciplines , the SCMC is not convinced that the 

    present leadership structure of the Board is either consistent with the provisions of The Water Act, The Air Act, The  Recommendations

    of the MGK Menon Committee and the report of the Planning Commission on the matter. 

 

d)We are therefore of the strong opinion that the AP Government ought to reconstitute the APPCB, in the light of the recommendations

   given in the Menon Committee. The Member Secretary must be a technically qualified person, as he is the Chief Executive Officer

   of  the Board.

 

e)The SCMC recommends that the State Government sets up a Selection Committee of  three eminent Scientists/Administrators ,

     who can preside over the selection process  that will send a list of three qualified candidates for each post to the Government for
     eventual selection.

 

f)The A.P State needs a Board that is dynamic & is technically well equipped to take stock of the serious environmental problems

  facing the State

 

 But unfortunately, the report of SCMC does not seem to have received the attention and consideration it deserved by the State Administration during the last seven years. As the industrial and development activities in the State had increased many folds during the last decade, the recommendations of SCMC are much more relevant to day, for initiating necessary action by the State Govt.

 

Parliamentary Standing Committee Recommendations

 

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology, Environment & Forests, which presented its report on functioning of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to both Houses of Parliament, is reported to have observed that the trend of IAS Officers and Bureaucrats holding key posts in Central and State Pollution Control Boards is very disturbing and that practice needs to be stopped forthwith.

 

 The Parliamentary Standing Committee also reported to have expressed its displeasure over not fixing qualifications or criteria for members of CPCB and State PCBs and observed that with composition dominated by government representatives, the CPCB and State PCBs cannot be expected to act as watchdog of environmental protection.

 

Prime Minister's Announcement

 

The Hon'ble Prime Minister is reported to have announced on 24 th July regarding the establishment of an independent Regulator "National Environment Appraisal and Monitoring Authority" (NEAMA).soon. This organization staffed by dedicated professionals, will work on a full-time basis, to evolve better and more objective standards of scrutiny  

 

Appeal

 

 In the light of the position explained above, the Hon'ble Chief Minister is requested to consider setting up the Selection Committee of three eminent Scientists/Administrators as recommended by SCMC, for appointment of Whole-Time Chairman and the reconstitution of APPCB Board at the earliest in accordance with Section 4 of The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.

 

Look forward for early response from the Hon'ble Chief Minister , who "Can Make A Difference" by his  Swift & Decisive Action