In a letter to the Chief Secretary and the Director of the DVAC, a group of civil society representatives has alleged irregularities and ‘match-fixing’ in the appointment of the member secretary of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.
They said the TNPCB had invited applications for the post of member secretary, and a perusal of the notification revealed that it contained several irregular and suspicious criteria that were not prescribed under the Water Act.
“We have reliably learnt from well-placed sources that the criteria have been introduced with high-level collusion, including from within the top bureaucracy in TNPCB and in the Government of Tamil Nadu, in order to favour a specific officer in TNPCB,” the group said.
They said complaints of corruption had been made out against the said officer, including during his tenure as District Environmental Engineer. “We have cross-verified both the suggestion that this notification has been drafted to specifically favour this individual and the allegations against the officer’s integrity with several sources,” they said in the letter.
They said several irregularities in the notification issued by the government stood out, such as the age limit of 55, which was not prescribed under the Water Act. A G.O. dated May 13, 2019, concerning the appointment, by nomination, of the chairperson and the member secretary, revealed that no such age limit had been prescribed, they added.
They also took issue with the criterion of 25 years of field experience to be nominated to the post of member secretary, pointing out that when read with the age-limit, even within the Board, it was meant to eliminate senior and more experienced engineers and all persons who had not served in the pollution control board.
The representatives — M.G. Devasahayam, I.A.S (Retd); S. Nagalsamy, I.A.A.S (Retd) and president, Makkal Paathai; Thomas Franco, advisor, All India Public Sector and Central Government Officers’ Confederation; G. Sundarrajan of Poovulagin Nanbargal; Jayaram Venkatesan, convenor, Arappor Iyakkam; and Nityanand Jayaraman of Chennai Solidarity Group — requested the officials to strike down the notification.
They requested the Chief Secretary to issue a fresh notification, excluding the two ‘problematic’ criteria, and to verify the complaints about the alleged conspiracy involving high-level officers to ‘match-fix’ the appointment process at TNPCB and take corrective action.
