Delhi anti-pollution agency battling severe staff crunch

Nearly 68% sanctioned posts (233 of the 344) in the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) are currently vacant, says a CPCB report.

Delhi’s pollution watchdog which is responsible for implementing and coordinating the majority of efforts to check air, water and noise pollution in the national Capital is battling a severe manpower crunch, according to an official report.

DPCC regulates anti-pollution activities and implements environmental and pollution control laws in Delhi. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

According to the report submitted by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to the National Green Tribunal, nearly 68% sanctioned posts (233 of the 344) in the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) are currently vacant. HT has a copy of the report.

DPCC regulates anti-pollution activities and implements environmental and pollution control laws in Delhi. The body runs 24 of Delhi’s 40 ambient air quality monitoring stations and 31 noise pollution monitors, carries out water quality tests at Delhi’s sewage treatment plants, effluent treatment plants and the Yamuna. It also monitors and ensures industries in Delhi meet pollution norms. It also acts as the nodal agency for enforcement of several Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) measures.

READ | DPCC sends SMS alerts on steps to be taken on bad air days

The tribunal sought the report after taking suo-motu cognizance of an October 24 news article, which said that pollution control boards were the “weak links” in the fight against air pollution. The tribunal had asked for the status of vacancies and efforts undertaken by each state pollution body.

The report, dated November 22, said that of the 28 state pollution control boards and eight pollution control committees, there are a total of 11,969 sanctioned posts of which 50% or 6,092 are currently vacant. The remaining 5,877 posts are occupied, it said.

“A performance audit of state pollution control boards and pollution control committees conducted during May-June 2019, in compliance with an NGT order dated August 28, 2019, it was observed that about 46% (4,342 posts) were vacant against a total sanction of 9,348 posts and around 54% (5,096 posts) were in place.” it said comparing the current status with 2019 data.

READ | Days after Diwali, 24 DPCC monitors go dark for eight hours in Delhi

Varun Gupta, an environmental activist, who had filed an RTI questioning the vacancies in the DPCC in January this year, said these openings have not been filled for years. “In the reply, I was informed a total of 229 posts were still vacant. Until we fill these vacancies, one cannot expect the DPCC to function at an optimal level and accordingly address people’s problems.” he said.

Bhargav Krishna, a fellow at Sustainable Futures Collaborative, said the problems range from a lengthy hiring process, to financial challenges. “The hiring process, which is conducted through different public service commissions can take up to nine months to fill a vacancy. A lot of pollution control boards are, therefore, looking to fill these posts by hiring people on temporary or contract basis. Some states are also outsourcing the hiring process,” he said, and added that a number of the vacant posts were in fact technical posts. “These include engineering positions, those who can ideally contribute to the fight against pollution,” he said.

The Delhi government did not comment on the vacancies. However, a DPCC official who asked not to be named, said the state government tried addressing the manpower shortage last February by inducting 30 junior environmental engineers and 22 ‘Green Delhi Fellows’. They were incorporated in both the DPCC and the state government’s environment department, the official said. However, in February, the 22 green fellows’ contracts were not renewed by Delhi LG, he added.

While refusing to renew the contracts of fellows inducted across departments by the Delhi government, the LG had said that they were recruited without following the due process.

“The 30 engineers are still part of the team, but the fellows are no longer assisting the department,” the DPCC official said.