Pollution control boards and committees in states and Union Territories, respectively, have failed to meet the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) April 30 deadline to fill the nearly 46% vacant posts in their ranks.
A report submitted by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to NGT revealed that 5,401 posts (or 46.53%) of the 11,606 sanctioned posts in 26 states and eight UTs continue to be vacant.
The CPCB’s status report was filed as part of an ongoing suo motu matter in which the tribunal is considering the issue of filling up vacant posts in state pollution control boards (SPCB), pollution control committees (PCC), and the CPCB, and creating adequate infrastructure.
Except Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, the remaining 26 SPCBs face recruitment delays and stretched timelines that extend far beyond the NGT’s April 30 deadline.
It was in September last year that the NGT ordered states outside the -NCR region to fill vacant SPCB and PCC posts by April 30. The Supreme Court, in an order on August 27, had already ordered filling of vacant posts across SPCBs in Delhi-NCR.
The low manpower across SPCBs and PCCs is a significant issue as their mandate is to monitor environmental pollution, carry out scientific sampling of air, water and noise pollution, and monitor compliance of environmental clearances.
Some of the most industrialised states — Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh — and some of the most populous — Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan — have large vacancies in the pollution watchdog bodies, the affidavit showed.
Bihar led with 90.47% vacant posts, followed by Uttarakhand (72.62% vacant posts), Andhra Pradesh (71%), Gujarat (60.92%), Karnataka (62.65%), Madhya Pradesh (63.02%) and Odisha (60.04%).
According to the CPCB’s affidavit, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram, Manipur and Rajasthan have cited pending government approvals as a reason behind delays in recruitment. Some, like Goa, Kerala, Meghalaya, and Rajasthan are relying on outsourced or contractual staff to meet operational needs. In many other states, posts are vacant either due to absence of eligible candidates in feeder cadre or administrative delays for approvals.
The status report also submitted details on the number of labs and equipment available with the SPCBs and PCCs. For wastewater monitoring, only five states — Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana — were fully equipped to take samples and test water.
Nikhil joined The Indian Express in 2024. Originally from Mumbai, he has worked in publications such as Tehelka, Hindustan Times, DNA Newspaper, News18 and Indiaspend. In the past 14 years, he has written on a range of subjects such as sports, current affairs, civic issues, city centric environment news, central government policies and politics.
