The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday directed the State government not to finalise the name for the posts of the chairperson and member-secretary of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) till final order is passed by the court in a PIL petition.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Ashok S. Kinagi passed the order while hearing the petition filed by R. Anjaneya Reddy of Chickballapur district.
However, the Bench said this order will not come in the way of the search-cum-selection committee undertaking other processes, including scrutinising of applications, for the post of chairperson.
The Bench noticed that there there were slight variations in the qualification/eligibility fixed for selection of persons to these two posts in the guidelines issued by the government in June 2020, when compared to the criteria prescribed in the Water (Prevention and and Control of Pollution), Act, 1974.
It was pointed out in the petition that the government’s guideline had omitted the word ‘special’ prefixed to knowledge and experience in the Section 4(2) of the Act in the qualification/eligibility prescribed for selecting persons for the post of chairperson for the State pollution control boards.
Also, the petitioner said the government’s guideline had said that only an officer from Indian Administrative Service be deputed to the post of member-secretary contrary to the provisions of the Act, which states that person possessing qualification, knowledge and experience of scientific, engineering and management aspects of pollution control to be appointed as a member-secretary.
In another PIL petition, the Bench had earlier upheld the other part of the guideline that empowers a search-cum-selection committee, comprising Chief Minister, the Minister for Forests, and the Chief Secretary to undertake the exercise of choosing the chairperson.
