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NEW DELHI: Nearly half of the sanctioned positions on pollution control boards and committees across the country remain vacant even as most major cities are reeling under the impact of air pollution, reveals the answer to a recent question in Parliament.The answers to other questions this year show that this has been the case over the last five years. Also, utilisation of funds under the National Clean Air Programme has been particularly poor in the Capital and satellite cities.A question answered in the ongoing session revealed that apart from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), there are 28 state pollution control boards (SPCBs) and 8 pollution control committees (PCCs) that work in the UTs and the NCT of Delhi. Together, their sanctioned strength for scientific and technical posts is 6,932, of which 3,161 or 45.6% were vacant. The vacancy was 16.3% in CPCB as of Nov, 43.8% in PCCs and 47.6% in the SPCBs as of Aug.
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As for all posts, an answer in March this year showed that of the 11,562 sanctioned positions in the SPCBs and PCCs, there were 5,671 or over 49% vacancies. Vacancies have ranged from 44% to 51% over the last five years.According to the March answer, 12 of the 28 SPCBs had over 50% vacancy. Sikkim topped the list with 100% vacancy and was followed by Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh, both lacking more than 70% staff. Kerala was the only large state where the vacancy was less than 10%. The vacancy was 9.3% in Goa, while Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland had no vacancies.Among PCCs, the vacancy was 44.5% in Delhi, while it was 69% in Ladakh and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Lakshadweep had zero vacancies, while only 11.1% of the sanctioned strength of Chandigarh was vacant. We are yet to get a response from the environment ministry on why there are so many vacancies. As and when we do, the story will be updated online.Data from 44 urban agglomerations (UAs) shows that Noida, Delhi and Faridabad were at the bottom of the list when it came to fund utilisation under the National Clean Air Programme. A parliamentary question answered in March showed that of the Rs 42 crore released to the national capital, only 32% was utilised. The proportion was 11.1% for Noida and 39% for Faridabad. In comparison, Surat utilised all of the funds alloted and Chennai 99%, while Kolkata utilised 87%.
