Supreme Court - Daily Orders
M.C. Mehta vs Union Of India on 27 August, 2024
Author: Abhay S. Oka
Bench: Abhay S. Oka
ITEM NO.16 COURT NO.6 SECTION PIL-W
S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
WRIT PETITION(S)(CIVIL) NO(S). 13029/1985
M.C. MEHTA Petitioner(s)
VERSUS
UNION OF INDIA & ORS. Respondent(s)
(IN RE: NUMBER OF VACANT POSTS IN STATUTORY POLLUTION CONTROL
BOARDS OF VARIOUS STATES NAME OF THE FOLLOWING ADVOCATES MAY BE
TREATED TO HAVE BEEN SHOWN IN THE LIST: MR. HARISH N. SALVE, SR.
ADVOCATE (A.C.) MS. APARAJITA SINGH, SR. ADVOCATE (A.C.) MR. A.D.N.
RAO, SR. ADVOCATE (A.C.) MR. SIDDHARTHA CHOWDHURY, ADVOCATE (A.C.)
PETITIONER-IN-PERSON MR. G.S. MAKKER, MR. AMRISH KUMAR, MR. M.K.
MARORIA MR. SANJAY KR. VISEN, MR. SUDEEP KUMAR, MS. ROOHE HINA DUA,
MR. SANDEEP KR. JHA MR. JYOTI MENDIRATTA, MR. RAHUL KHURANA,
ADVOCATES)
Date : 27-08-2024 This petition was called on for hearing today.
CORAM :
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ABHAY S. OKA
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH
Ms. Aparajita Singh, Sr. Advocate (A.C.)
Mr. A.D.N. Rao, Sr. Advocate (A.C.)
Mr. Siddhartha Chowdhury, Advocate (A.C.)
Ms. Shibhani Ghosh, Adv.
For the Parties Applicant-in-person, AOR
Petitioner-in-person
Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, A.S.G.
Ms. Ruchi Kohli, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Gurmeet Singh Makker, AOR
Ms. Suhashini Sen, Adv.
Mr. Rajesh K. Singh, Adv.
Mr. S.S. Rebello, Adv.
Mr. Subharanshu Padi, Adv.
Mr. Wasim Qadri, Adv.
Mr. Rohan Gupta, Adv.
Signature Not Verified
Mr. P.K. Jain, AOR
Digitally signed by
ASHISH KONDLE
Date: 2024.08.28
16:10:36 IST
Reason: Mr. Ramesh Babu M.R., AOR
1
Mr. Rajesh Kumar Chaurasia, AOR
Mr. Ejaz Maqbool, AOR
Ms. Hemantika Wahi, AOR
Ms. Binu Tamta, AOR
Mr. V.K. Verma, AOR
Mr. E.C. Agrawala, AOR
Mr. Pradeep Kumar Bakshi, AOR
Mr. Ashok Mathur, AOR
Ms. Sujeeta Srivastava, AOR
Mr. Radha Shyam Jena, AOR
Mrs. Bina Gupta, AOR
Mr. Rakesh K. Sharma, AOR
Mr. Sudhir Mendiratta, AOR
Mr. Ajit Pudussery, AOR
Mr. Mukesh K. Giri, AOR
M/S. Parekh & Co., AOR
Mr. Sandeep Narain, AOR
Mr. Anil Kumar Jha, AOR
Mrs. Anil Katiyar, AOR
Mr. Hardeep Singh Anand, AOR
Mr. G. Prakash, AOR
Ms. Shalini Kaul, AOR
Mr. Sushil Kumar Singh, AOR
Mrs. Rani Chhabra, AOR
Mr. Umesh Kumar Khaitan, AOR
Mrs. Priya Puri, AOR
Mr. Sharad Kumar Puri, Adv.
Mrs. Pinki Aggarwal, Adv.
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Ms. Parul Sharma, Adv.
Ms. Nandini Gidwaney, AOR
Mr. Shri Narain, AOR
Mr. Sanjay Kumar Visen, AOR
Mr. Rajiv Ranjan Dwivedi, AOR
Mr. K.R. Sasiprabhu, AOR
Mrs. K. Sarada Devi, AOR
Mr. Balaji Srinivasan, AOR
Ms. Ruchi Kohli, AOR
Dr. Monika Gusain, AOR
Mr. T. V. Ratnam, AOR
Mr. Sushil Kumar Jain, AOR
Mr. Aniruddha Deshmukh, AOR
Ms. Manjula Gupta, AOR
Mr. S.S. Shroff, AOR
Mr. Abhishek, AOR
Mr. Nishe Rajen Shonker, AOR
Mrs. Anu K Joy, Adv.
Mr. Alim Anvar, Adv.
M/S. Khaitan & Co., AOR
Mr. Surya Kant, AOR
Mrs. B. Sunita Rao, AOR
Mr. Mohit D. Ram, AOR
Mr. Ravindra Bana, AOR
Mr. R.P. Gupta, AOR
Mr. P. Parmeswaran, AOR
Mr. Sarvam Ritam Khare, AOR
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Mr. Satya Mitra, AOR
M/S. M.V. Kini & Associates, AOR
Mr. Pramod Dayal, AOR
Mr. Parijat Sinha, AOR
M/S. Saharya & Co., AOR
Mr. Rakesh Kumar-i, AOR
M/S. S. Narain & Co., AOR
Mr. Chirag M. Shroff, AOR
Mr. Dhananjay Kataria, Adv.
Mrs. Mahima C Shroff, Adv.
Mr. Anand Thumbayil, Adv.
Mrs. Aishwarya Bhati, A.S.G.
Mr. Wasim Quadri, Sr. Adv.
Mrs. Ruchi Kohli, Sr. Adv.
Mrs. Archna Pathak Dave, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Mukesh Kumar Maroria, AOR
Mrs. Suhasini Sen, Adv.
Mr. Rajesh Kr. Singh, Adv.
Mr. Subhranshu Padhi, Adv.
Mr. S S Rebello, Adv.
Mr. Alok Gupta, AOR
Mr. Pavan Kumar, AOR
Ms. Menaka Guruswamy, Sr. Adv.
Mr. S. Wasim A Quadri, Sr. Adv.
Ms. Suvangana Agarwal, Adv.
Mr. Praveen Swarup, Adv.
Mr. Lavkesh Bhambhani, Adv.
Mr. Utkarsh Pratap, Adv.
Mr. Ameet Siingh, Adv.
Mr. Devesh Maurya, Adv.
Mr. Ravi Kumar, Adv.
Mr. Praveen Swarup, AOR
Mr. Prashant Kumar, AOR
Ms. Pritha Srikumar Iyer, AOR
Mr. Vivek Gupta, AOR
Mr. Vinay Garg, AOR
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Ms. G. Indira, AOR
Mr. Yoginder Handoo, AOR
Mr. Anil Kumar, AOR
Ms. Lubna Naaz, AOR
Mr. Nishant Kumar, Adv.
Ms. Shashi Kiran, AOR
Ms. Aastha Mehta, Adv.
Ms. Deepanwita Priyanka, AOR
Ms. Prerana Mohapatra, Adv.
Mr. Raghvendra Kumar, AOR
Mr. Anando Mukherjee, AOR
Mr. Shwetank Singh, Adv.
Ms. Akshata Chhabra, Adv.
Ms. Surbhi Mehta, AOR
Mr. Shovan Mishra, AOR
Ms. G. Indira, AOR
Mr. Anuj Bhandari, AOR
Mr. Neeraj Shekhar, AOR
Mr. Mohit Paul, AOR
Mr. Nischal Kumar Neeraj, AOR
Ms. Lakshmi, Adv.
Ms. Banisha Verma, Adv.
Mr. Shalen Bhardwaj, Adv.
Mr. Ashok Kumar Panigrah, Adv.
Dr. Nilakshi Choudhary, Adv.
Mr. Nishit Agrawal, AOR
Mr. Yashraj Singh Bundela, AOR
Mr. Surjeet Singh, Adv.
Mrs. Pratima Singh, Adv.
Mr. Chanakya Baruah, Adv.
Ms. Saloni, Adv.
Mr. Pulkit Agarwal, AOR
Mr. Mukesh Verma, Adv.
Mr. Pankaj Kumar Singh, Adv.
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Mr. Pawan Kumar Shukla, Adv.
Mr. Vatsala Tripathi, Adv.
Mr. Yash Pal Dhingra, AOR
Mr. Ashutosh Dubey, AOR
Mrs. Rajshri Dubey, Adv.
Mr. Abhishek Chauhan, Adv.
Mr. Amit P Shahi, Adv.
Mr. Gaurav Yadav, Adv.
Mr. Shashibushan Nagar, Adv.
Mr. Rahul Sethi, Adv.
Mr. Mayank Singh Chauhan, Adv.
Mr. Chandra Prakash, AOR
Ms. Astha Sharma, AOR
Ms. Lihzu Shiney Konyak, Adv.
Mr. T.R.B. Sivakumar, AOR
Mr. Yogendra Kumar, Adv.
Mr. Ruumit Chhillar, Adv.
Mr. Praveen Pathak, Adv.
Ms. Manju Jetley, AOR
Mr. Amrish Kumar, AOR
Mr. Harsh V. Surana, AOR
Ms. Rakhi Ray, AOR
Ms. Ishita Jain, AOR
Mr. Anand Kumar Shrivastava, Adv.
Mr. Ankit Bhandari, Adv.
M/S. Karanjawala & Co., AOR
Mr. V.N. Raghupathy, AOR
Ms. Charu Ambwani, AOR
Mr. Vinay Garg, AOR
M/S. M.V. Kini & Associates, AOR
Mr. Pradeep Misra, AOR
Mr. Daleep Dhyani, Adv.
Mr. Suraj Singh, Adv.
Mr. Manoj Kumar Sharma, Adv.
Mr. Bhuwan Chandra, Adv.
Mr. Manish Kumar, AOR
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Mr. Ravi Shanker Jha, Adv.
Ms. Jyoti Mendiratta, AOR
Mr. Puneet Taneja, AOR
Mr. Amit Yadav, Adv.
Ms. Vrinda Bhandari, AOR
Mr. Gaurav, AOR
Mr. Shuvodeep Roy, AOR
Mr. Saurabh Tripathi, Adv.
Ms. Divya Jyoti Singh, AOR
Ms. Aswathi M.K., AOR
Mr. Gopal Jha, AOR
Mr. Shishir Deshpande, AOR
Mr. D. Kumanan, AOR
Ms. Deepa S, Adv.
Mr. Sheikh F Kalia, Adv.
Mr. Veshal Tyagi, Adv.
Mr. Chinmay Anand Panigrahi, Adv.
Ms. Pritha Srikumar Iyer, AOR
Mr. Gurminder Singh, AG
Mr. Shadan Farasat, AAG
Ms. Rooh-e-hina Dua, AOR
Mr. Harshit Khanduja, Adv.
Mr. Ankit Khera, Adv.
Mr. Mudit Gupta, AOR
Ms. Tulika Mukherjee, AOR
Mr. Akshay Girish Ringe, AOR
Mr. Gaurav, AOR
Ms. Puja Sharma, AOR
Mr. Gautam Narayan, AOR
Ms. Asmita Singh, Adv.
Mr. Anirudh Anand, Adv.
Mr. Tushar Nair, Adv.
Mr. Neeraj Kumar Gupta, AOR
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Mr. Danish Zubair Khan, AOR
Mr. Vikas Mehta, AOR
Ms. Garima Prashad, Sr. A.A.G.
Mr. Sudeep Kumar, AOR
Ms. Manisha, Adv.
Ms. Rupali, Adv.
Ms. Sakshi Kakkar, AOR
Mr. Mandeep Singh Vinaik, Adv.
Ms. Shagun Matta, AOR
Mr. Shiv Mangal Sharma, A.A.G.
Ms. Nidhi Jaswal, Adv.
Ms. Shalini Singh, Adv.
Mr. Saurabh Rajpal, Adv.
Mr. Sandeep Kumar Jha, AOR
Mr. Anurag Kishore, AOR
Ms. Mayuri Raghuvanshi, AOR
Mr. Vyom Raghuvanshi, Adv.
Mr. Shekhar Chandra, Adv.
Mr. Anil Raina, Adv.
Ms. Diksha Sarin, Adv.
Ms. Purnima Jauhari, AOR
Dr. Brij Bhushan K Jauhari, Adv.
Mr. O.P. Singh, Adv.
Mr. Deepak Jyoti Ghildiyal, Adv.
Dr. Sushil Sharma, Adv.
Mr. Harsh Mahan, Adv.
Mr. Hiren Dasan, AOR
Mr. Ajay Vikram Singh, AOR
Mr. K. Paari Vendhan, AOR
Ms. Divya Roy, AOR
M/S. S. Narain & Co., AOR
Mr. Ayush Sharma, AOR
Mr. Vijay Kr. Khanna, Adv.
Mr. Hitesh Kumar Sharma, Adv.
Mr. Amit Kumar Chawla, Adv.
Ms Tanishka Grover, Adv.
8
Mr. Akhileshwar Jha, Adv.
Ms. Manisha Chawla, Adv.
Mr. Kuldip Singh, AOR
Ms. Anushree Prashit Kapadia, AOR
Mr. Ketan Paul, AOR
Mr. S Prabakaran, Sr. Adv.
Mrs. Usha Prabakaran, Adv.
Mr. Maheswaran Prabakaran, Adv.
Dr. Ram Sankar, Adv.
Mrs. Harini Ramsankar, Adv.
M/S. Ram Sankar & Co, AOR
Ms. Malvika Kapila, AOR
Mr. Gaurav Kejriwal, AOR
Mr. Shekhar Kumar, AOR
Mr. Rajan Narain, AOR
Mr. Sunil Fernandes, AOR
Mr. Vikrant Singh Bais, AOR
Ms. Diksha Rai, AOR
Mr. Soumya Dutta, AOR
Mr. Sameer Kumar, AOR
Mr. Ajay Pal, AOR
Mr. Dhananjaya Mishra, AOR
Mr. Rahul Khurana, AOR
Ms. Jaikriti S. Jadeja, AOR
Ms. Astha Tyagi, AOR
Mr. Anas Tanwir, AOR
Mr. Mritunjay Kumar Sinha, AOR
Mr. Durga Dutt, AOR
Mr. Avijit Mani Tripathi, AOR
Mr. Vikas Bansal, Adv.
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Ms. Rashmi Malhotra, AOR
Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, A.S.G.
Mr. Wasim Qadri, Sr. Adv.
Ms. Ruchi Kohli, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Gurmeet Singh Makker, AOR
Ms. Suhashini Sen, Adv.
Mr. Rajesh K. Singh, Adv.
Mr. S.S. Rebello, Adv.
Mr. Subharanshu Padi, Adv.
Mr. Rohan Gupta, Adv.
Mr. Gaurav Choudhary, AOR
Mr. Ravindra Kumar, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Vipin Kumar Saxena, Adv.
Mr. Shivam Saxena, Adv.
Mr. Binay Kumar Das, AOR
Ms. Priyanka Das, Adv.
Ms. Neha Das, Adv.
Mr. Vikas Bharti, Adv.
Ms. Kumudini Priyadarshini, Adv.
Mr. S.S. Shroff, AOR
Ms. Madhumita Bhattacharjee, AOR
Ms. Debarati Sadhu, Adv.
Ms. Srija Choudhury, Adv.
Mr. Anant, Adv.
Ms. Sajal, Adv.
Mr. Rishi Matoliya, AOR
Mr. D. Abhinav Rao, AOR
Mrs. Aishwarya Bhati, A.S.G.
Mr. Archana Pathak Dave, Sr. Adv.
Mrs. Ruchi Kohli, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Raj Bahadur Yadav, AOR
Mrs. Alka Agarwal, Adv.
Ms. Sonali Jain, Adv.
Mr. Ashok Kumar B, Adv.
Ms. Baby Devi Bonia, Adv.
Mr. Anirudh Bhat, Adv.
Mr. Prashant Singh Ii, Adv.
Mr. Nirnimesh Dube, AOR
Mr. Ravindra S. Garia, AOR
Mr. Shashank Singh, Adv.
Mr. Madan Chandra, Adv.
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Mr. Talha Abdul Rahman, AOR
Mr. Guntur Pramod Kumar, AOR
Mr. Rajiv Yadav, AOR
Mr. Vipin Nair, AOR
Ms. Nidhi Mohan Parashar, AOR
Mr. P. Parmeswaran, AOR
Mr. Nitin Saluja, AOR
Mr. Deepayan Mandal, AOR
Ms. Shalu Sharma, AOR
Mr. Sahil Tagotra, AOR
Mr. Akhil Anand, AOR
Mr. Prashant Singh, AOR
Mrs. Prerna Dhall, Adv.
Mr. Piyush Yadav, Adv.
Ms. Akanksha Singh, Adv.
Ms. K. Enatoli Sema, AOR
Ms. Limayinla Jamir, Adv.
Mr. Amit Kumar Singh, Adv.
Ms. Chubalemla Chang, Adv.
Mr. Prang Newmai, Adv.
Mr. Rishi Malhotra, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Prakash Ranjan Nayak, AOR
Mr. Satya Mitra, AOR
Mr. Prasanna S., AOR
Ms. Mithu Jain, AOR
Ms. Asha Gopalan Nair, AOR
M/S. Ahmadi Law Offices, AOR
Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, A.S.G.
Ms. Archana Pathak Dave, Sr. Adv.
Ms. Suhasini Sen, Adv.
Mr. Rajesh Kr. Singh, Adv.
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Mr. Subhranshu Padhi, Adv.
Mr. Gaurang Bhushan, Adv.
Ms. Sweksha, Adv.
Dr. N. Visakamurthy, AOR
Mr. M.P. Devanath, AOR
Mr. R.C. Kohli, AOR
Mr. D. Abhinav Rao, AOR
Mr. Aakarshan Aditya, AOR
Mr. Qazi Nayeem Ahmad, Adv.
Mr. Vinodh Kanna B., AOR
Mr. Sandeep Singh, AOR
Ms. N. Annapoorani, AOR
Mr. S. Gowthaman, AOR
Ms. Neeru Vaid, AOR
Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, A.S.G.
Ms. Archana Pathak Dave, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Krishna Kant, Adv.
Mr. Kanu Agrawal, Adv.
Mr. Varun Chugh, Adv.
Mr. Bhuvan Kapoor, Adv.
Ms. Suhashini Sen, Adv.
Mr. Rajesh Kumar Singh, Adv.
Mr. Subhranshu Padhi, Adv.
Mr. Gaurang Bhushan, Adv.
Ms. Indira Bhakar, Adv.
Mr. Vineet Singh, Adv.
Mr. Shreekant Neelappa Terdal, AOR
Mr. Pranav Sachdeva, AOR
Mr. Sameer Shrivastava, AOR
Mr. Debojit Borkakati, AOR
Mr. Mahfooz Ahsan Nazki, AOR
Ms. Misha Rohatgi, AOR
Mr. Ravi Prakash, AOR
Mr. Pukhrambam Ramesh Kumar, AOR
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Mr. Karun Sharma, Adv.
Ms. Anupama Ngangom, Adv.
Ms. Rajkumari Divyasana, Adv.
Mr. R. Rajaselvan, Adv.
Mr. Vikrant Singh Bais, AOR
Mr. Alok Gupta, AOR
Mr. K. V. Mohan, AOR
Mrs. Tessy Varghese, Adv.
Mrs. Satwinder Kaur, Adv.
Mr. K.V. Balakrishnan, Adv.
Ms. Surabhi Sanchita, AOR
Mr. Vinod Sharma, AOR
Mr. S Prabakaran, Sr. Adv.
Mrs. Usha Prabakaran, Adv.
Mr. Maheswaran Prabakaran, Adv.
Dr. Ram Sankar, Adv.
Mrs. Harini Ramsankar, Adv.
M/S. Ram Sankar & Co, AOR
Mr. Sagar Roy, Adv.
Ms. Anki Kashyap, Adv.
Mr. Sunil Kumar, Adv.
Mr. Manaj Sarkar, Adv.
Mr. Sankar Mohan Sarkar, Adv.
Mr. Deepanshu Raina, Adv.
Mr. Subhro Sanyal, AOR
Ms. Nidhi Jaswal, AOR
Mr. Rakesh Kumar-I, AOR
Mr. Parminder Singh Bhullar, AOR
Mr. Chandrakant S Sarkar, Adv.
Mr. Mukesh Kumar Singh, Adv.
Mr. Ikshit Singhal, Adv.
Mr. C.M. Dwivedi, Adv.
Mrs. Kajal Rani, Adv.
Mr. Jitendra Kumar, Adv.
Mr. Shantanu Jugtawat, Adv.
Mr. Subodh, Adv.
Mr. Mani Shankar Mishra, Adv.
Ms. Dibya Kumari, Adv.
Mrs. Samta Pushkarana Mishra, Adv.
M/S. Mukesh Kumar Singh And Co., AOR
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Ms. Ankita Sharma, AOR
Mr. Arjun D Singh, Adv.
Mr. Sameer Abhyankar, AOR
(Standing Counsel for Sikkim)
Mr. Aakash Thakur, Adv.
Mr. Rahul Kumar, Adv.
Mr. Kushagra Aman, Adv.
Ms. Ayushi Bansal, Adv.
UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following
O R D E R
We have perused the compliance reported by the States of Rajasthan, Punjab, NCT of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana which are States falling in the National Capital Region. These States were called upon to file compliance affidavits regarding filling in the vacant posts in the respective State Pollution Control Boards. A substantial number of posts are vacant in relation to these five States. Initially, we were inclined to grant an outer limit till 31st March, 2025, to fill in all the vacant posts. However, Ms. Aparajita Singh, learned Senior Advocate appointed as Amicus Curiae, is right when she pointed out that very soon the issue of stubble burning and pollution will arise. She invited our attention to the provisions of the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021 (for short, “the 2021 Act”). The object of establishing the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (for short, “the Commission”) under Section 3 of the 2021 Act is for better co- ordination, research, identification and resolution of problems surrounding the air quality index and for matters connected 14 therewith or incidental thereto.
Our attention is also invited by the learned Amicus Curiae to Section 11 of the 2021 Act which provides for constitution of Sub- Committees including a Sub-Committee on Safeguarding and Enforcement. The constitution of the Sub-Committee on Safeguarding and Enforcement has been laid down in sub-Section (3) of Section 11 of the 2021 Act.
Today, the situation is that due to a large number of vacant posts in the State Pollution Control Boards, the said Boards have become ineffective for all purposes. Now, the question is what steps the Commission proposes to take. The issue is of a very urgent nature as the State Pollution Control Boards, who have more than sufficient powers to take steps for controlling pollution, are virtually defunct. We, therefore, direct the Chairperson of the Commission to remain present through video conference on the next date and explain to us what steps the Commission proposes to take. Our attention is also invited to clause (c) of sub-Section (6) of Section 12 of the 2021 Act. The Chairperson of the Commission will have to address the Court on this aspect also.
We make it clear that all States have to endeavour to fill in the important posts urgently. Under no circumstances, we are going to grant them time for filling in all the vacancies beyond 30th April, 2025.
The States of Rajasthan, Punjab, NCT of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana will address the issue of filling in substantial vacancies in the State Pollution Control Boards on urgent basis and the outer limit therefor. These States will endeavour to fill in 15 the vacant posts, which are required to be filled in by directing recruitment, within a period of two months from today. However, a specific statement shall be made by these States on the next date. It will be open for the Chairperson of the Commission to file an affidavit indicating the steps which the Commission proposes to take in terms of the provisions of the 2021 Act.
List on 2nd September, 2024.
(ASHISH KONDLE) (AVGV RAMU)
COURT MASTER (SH) COURT MASTER (NSH)
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