BANGALORE: The new chairman of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), H.C. Sharatchandra, is the first head of the Board to be selected by a search committee comprising experts.

This has been done in deference to the directions of the Supreme Court and the recommendations of several Government of India-appointed committees that only technically qualified persons should be appointed to this post.

The State Government had, until now, been appointing legislators, political leaders or bureaucrats to head this autonomous body, which regulates and monitors compliance with environmental laws.

A week after assuming office, Dr. Sharatchandra told The Hindu , "The KSPCB can play a major role in giving a direction to the untrammelled growth of Bangalore and the tremendous pressure it places on resources such as land and water."

And he has already started cracking the whip, particularly on the enforcement front.

House panel

A Legislature Committee headed by A.T. Ramaswamy has been swooping down on land encroachments and unauthorised construction in and around Bangalore.

On August 26, the KSPCB issued a show-cause notice to the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), returnable within seven days, for letting untreated effluents from the residential areas of Kaggadasapura, G.M. Palya, Malleshpalya and Byrasandra into the 82-acre Kaggadasapura lake. But, the Board furnished no report.

When no suitable response was forthcoming the chairman decided to authorise the Deputy Environmental Officer, Bangalore City 2, to file a criminal complaint against the BWSSB Chief Engineer.

Transparency

Dr. Sharatchandra, who had served as Special Secretary, Department of Environment and Ecology, said the KSPCB under him would be totally RTI (Right to Information Act) compliant and transparent.

Officials, engineers and scientists have already been told do more than give their decisions and explain, on record, why they took those decisions.

"As an autonomous regulatory board, we are accountable not only for what we do, but also what we do not do," he said.

Dr. Sharatchandra is excited about jockeying for a proactive role for the Board in changing the way Bangalore is growing and expanding.

"Greater Bangalore is an idea whose time has come, and with the Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority, the Board can contribute to the building of a brand new city with eco-sensitivity," he said.

Ambient air quality

Monitoring Bangalore's water and ambient air quality is another important item on the chairman's agenda.

"The Board must soon house a database of air and water quality in the city, how they are changing over time and what needs to be done to ensure healthy air and water in Bangalore," Dr. Sharatchandra said.

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