Taking exception to the appointment of Lakshman as chairman of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), founder-president of National Committee for Protection of Natural Resources (NCPNR) S.R. Hiremath has termed it as the most irresponsible, unconscionable act of the senior administrative and political executive.
Addressing presspersons here on Tuesday, Mr. Hiremath said the that Supreme Court Monitoring Committee had found that bureaucrats, politicians and non-technical persons had been appointed as chairpersons of State pollution control boards and pollution control committees and had taken exception to such appointments.
Quoting the M.G.K. Menon Committee as saying in its report, Mr. Hiremath said that the chairman of the pollution control boards/ committees should be an individual with a sense of vision and a feeling for the future. He must have an understanding of the complexity of modern science and technology as he will be dealing with highly technical issues.
He must have an understanding of law. The chairperson would have to be fully involved in the task of environment construction and planning. Appointment of the chairperson of the board should be on full-time basis.
However, despite all these observations and recommendations, Mr. Lakshman, a close aide of Minister D.K. Shivakumar, had been appointed as KSPCB chairman disregarding all rules and regulations, he said.
Releasing documents, Mr. Hiremath said that Mr. Lakshman was a developer who had signed a joint development agreement with Vyalikaval House Building Cooperative Society (which has been accused of various irregularities) in Bengaluru. “He is a close aide of the Minister [D.K. Shivakumar] and has lent Rs. 25 lakh to the Minister as per a declaration in an election affidavit (2014). And that explains why none of the five experts recommended for appointment by Additional Chief Secretary M. Madan Gopal initially were not considered for the post,” he said.
Mr. Hiremath also criticised Mr. Madan Gopal for not showing enough courage to call a spade just that, when the candidature of Mr. Lakshman was put up for appointment.
“Mr. Madan Gopal is known to be an upright officer, but he has failed to convey the real picture while forwarding Mr. Lakshman’s candidature. He has forwarded Mr. Lakshman’s candidature for the post without making any comment on it, which is condemnable,” he said.
