In charts: India’s long-ignored, understaffed pollution control bodies

Why read this story?

Editor's note: Inside the Haryana State Pollution Control Board’s regional office in Panipat, a board displays a list of regional officers over the last 20 years. There have been at least six regional officers in the past three years alone; the one with the shortest tenure served for only 14 days. Kamaljeet Singh, the current regional officer, plays this down. “These are routine transfers,” he says. But the lack of stability of district chief tenures is only one of the many issues that plague the board. The regional office of the Haryana SPCB is located in a shabby complex on the outskirts of Panipat. The long, rectangular room houses one cabin for Singh and another for his deputies; the corridor is occupied by the clerical staff.  Pardeep Singh, an assistant environmental engineer and Kamaljeet’s subordinate, has been working at the Panipat office for over three years. He, along with three other environmental engineers, is responsible for monitoring hundreds of dyeing and manufacturing units in Haryana’s textile hub. Panipat’s industries are among the largest users of coal in the National Capital Region. Singh, …