Team Herald
PANJIM: In a direct conflict of interest, for the last six months Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) has been chaired by the kind of appointees that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Wednesday barred. NGT in an order stated that the appointment of inadequately qualified persons and politicians as chairman and member secretary of State pollution boards should be avoided.
Since March this year, GSPCB has been headed by Chief Secretary RK Srivastava, after its chairman Jose Manuel Noronha, was appointed as chairman of the Goa Public Service Commission. The appointment of the Chief Secretary is in violation of the High Court order, which had restricted political and bureaucratic appointments to the post as it leads to conflict of interest.
Moreover, the three-year tenure of the existing board and its member secretary Levinson Martins, ended earlier this year. However, since the NGT order in March, restrained State governments from making appointments to the post of Chairman and Member Secretary, the State had halted the process of constituting a new board.
In absence of a full-fledged Chairman and Member Secretary, the
Board has been left partially non functional since March.
“The Board has been literally non-functional for the past six months as both Chairman and Member secretary hold additional charges,” sources said. Martins, is also Director of Science and Technology.
A senior GSPCB official admitted that the appointment of the Chief Secretary is in violation of High Court directives; but claimed that with NGT’s order in March, restricting States from appointment chairman and member secretary, the government was forced to make alternative arrangements. “We had intimated the appointment of Chief Secretary to NGT,” official said.
Sources said that Srivastava, being the Chief Secretary of the State, hardly turned up at the GSPCB office in the past six months, forcing officials to meet him at the Secretariat for his signatures and approvals. Also, under his tenure, the Board has met just twice, and the only major decision taken was to grant consent to establish to the Mopa International Airport. This approval was also based on Environment Clearances (EC) granted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).
Further, Martins, an official of Goa civil services cadre, has been member secretary for about three years and continues to hold the post.
As per the latest NGT order, the appointment of Chairman or Member Secretary should not be by virtue of their designation in service of the State government like Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary, Environment Secretary or even Politician like former Speaker, Minister, MLA, all literary persons and non technical persons.
